The FBI and US Cybersecurity intelligence agencies are now investigating new hacking attacks on the New York Times and other reporters, along with their on-going investigation of the Russian attacks on the DNC network.
From CNN’s Breaking News Page: Hackers thought to be working for Russian intelligence have carried out a series of cyber breaches targeting reporters at The New York Times and other US news organizations, according to US officials briefed on the matter.
CNN is leading with this story, reporting via interviews with experts that are saying on the record that this is an “enemy nation state” that is attempting to glean intel from both reporters with access to high-ranking individuals and the DNC.
The New York Times said on Tuesday its Moscow bureau was targeted by a cyber attack this month but that there was no evidence the hackers, believed to be Russian, were successful.
“We are constantly monitoring our systems with the latest available intelligence and tools,” Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy told the newspaper. “We have seen no evidence that any of our internal systems, including our systems in the Moscow bureau, have been breached or compromised.”
Earlier on Tuesday, CNN, citing unnamed U.S. officials, reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other U.S. security agencies were investigating cyber breaches targeting reporters at the Times and other U.S. news organizations that were thought to have been carried out by hackers working for Russian intelligence.
Attention has grown on the hacks thought to be carried out by Russians since Wikileaks released a trove of emails stolen from the DNC in the weekend before the Democratic Party's convention to nominate Hillary Clinton for president. US intelligence officials say there is strong evidence showing Russian intelligence behind the DNC hack. The Clinton campaign has claimed the hack as proof that the Russians are trying to aid the election of Donald Trump.
One issue under investigation is which Russian cyberhackers are carrying out these attacks, if they are state actors, and what their aims are in doing this at this time. So far, the FBI believe that these attacks are Russian intelligence driven.
The intrusions, detected in recent months, are under investigation by the FBI and other US security agencies. Investigators so far believe that Russian intelligence is likely behind the attacks and that Russian hackers are targeting news organizations as part of a broader series of hacks that also have focused on Democratic Party organizations, the officials said.
From the New York Times:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into the attempted attack on The Times, a government official briefed on the inquiry said, but has no investigations underway of such episodes at other news organizations. Kelly Langmesser, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the F.B.I. had no comment.
Evidence that hackers had targeted The Times came to light two months after private investigators concluded that Russian hackers, apparently connected to two of the country’s intelligence agencies, had broken into the networks of the Democratic National Committee.
The F.B.I.’s investigation into that episode has since widened to include breaches at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is the fund-raising arm for the House Democrats.
So far, the Obama administration has not blamed the Russian government publicly for that attack, though intelligence officials have said they have “high confidence” that the attack on the Democratic National Committee was the work of two Russian intelligence agencies, the F.S.B. and the G.R.U. The first is the successor to the K.G.B., and the second is the leading military intelligence unit.
Once the federal investigation into the hacking of the Democratic National Committee is complete, senior administration officials say, President Obama will have to decide whether the evidence of Russian responsibility for the breach is strong enough to warrant an American response. If so, he would also have to determine whether that response would take the form of quiet warnings, economic sanctions or even a counterattack of some kind.
WaPo is leading with this headline: “Attempted hack of New York Times might fuel more talk of Russia assisting Trump.”
Trump has famously invited the Kremlin to go after emails that Hillary Clinton deleted, citing privacy.
"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said at a news conference last month.
But during the same event, he called the idea that he can tell Russian hackers where to aim "so far-fetched."
"It's so ridiculous," Trump said. "Honestly I wish I had that power. I'd love to have that power."
Still, it could be possible for Trump to influence the selection of targets without knowing it, especially if Russia would prefer to see him in the White House. Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised Trump as "a really brilliant and talented person," and Trump has lauded Putin as a "strong leader." Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote in The Washington Post last week that "Putin not only has strong motives for wanting Trump to win over Clinton but also has some means to try to influence our presidential vote."
Our intelligence services are still conducting a form of the Cold War...and this sort of thing is serious business in the Beltway. Make no mistake: there is a smoldering cyberwar in effect, and the main players involved are the US, Russia, and China.
This level of politically-leaning cyberattacks by Russian state-actors during a US election cycle is unprecedented.
“Some people are saying...” this looks like a Russian state action to assist the Trump campaign...”
“Some people are saying...” look into the following issues regarding Donald Trump and the people advising him:
- -Trump’s business loans from Russians
- -Manafort's dirty money from pro-Russian elements
- -Pro-Russian advisors
- -Trump reinforcing Putin’s comments about breaking up NATO and the Russian invasion of the Crimea
- -Trump inviting the Russians to hack/disrupt a US election
- -The drumbeat of Russian state actors hacking DNC and news organization computers, and for what purpose
- -Putin, the FSB/GRU and their intentions in meddling in American policy via cyberwarfare and our Presidential election
- -Campaign tactics and speeches that incite hate and discord into the US body politic, destabilizing the Republic
- -Trump’s man-crush on Putin
- -Is the Trump Campaign actually infected with Kremlin “useful idiots?”
- ...and, finally: Why won’t Trump release his taxes?
Follow this story as it is trending on many online news outlets this morning.
Thanks, I’m humbled by the recommend. This subject can’t help but draw me in: I’ve spent 20+ years in information security consulting to the government, intel agencies, and the military. And this story is astonishing to me. Historic in terms of America being this level of cybertarget in a Presidential cycle.