FBI probes DNC hack as suspicions of Russian involvement widen - atchisoncomence

The FBI has launched an investigation into the hacking of the Democratic National Committee's computers, just as more evidence surfaced of possible Russian affair in the attack.

The data breach was first revealed last month, when hackers published confidential DNC files, including opposition research on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Then on Friday, Wikileaks publicised terminated 19,000 emails that were stolen from the DNC, about of which now threaten to harm the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The FBI confirmed on Monday that it was investigating the attempt and said the perpetrators would be "held accountable." "A via media of this nature is something we take very gravely," the agency said in a instruction.

The FBI declined to elaborate, but the outcome of its probe could have huge implications. If Russia is found responsible, it would mean a foreign state had proven to influence the outcome of a U.S. presidential election, said Justin Harvey, chief surety officer at Fidelis Cybersecurity.

"If a nation-state has intercrossed this run along, and the FBI can show it was Russia, then it will be a watershed moment in cyber security system," he said.

Some security investigators had already blamed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the attacks, and that saddle has now been echoed by the DNC and by Clinton's safari manager.

"I wear't think it was coincidental that these emails were free on the eve of our convention here," campaign manager Robby Mook said in an interview with CNN on Sunday, referring to the kickoff of the Democratic Home Convention in Philadelphia.

Trump has espoused foreign insurance policy views that could equal favorable to Russia, liberal it an incentive to cave Clinton's candidacy, the mentation goes.

"You have Trump out there expression he may give NATO," Harvey noted. "Russia has tried for over half a century to dissolve NATO."

Security department firm Crowdstrike, which was hired past the DNC to investigate the hack, has blamed the intrusion on two hacking teams with ties to the Russian government. Other firms including Fidelis have agreed thereupon claim.

The cache of emails released by WikiLeaks on Friday adds to the opinion that there was nation-sponsored involvement.

WikiLeaks

A security alert from Bumpkin to a DNC consultant

In early May, the emails read, Yahoo alerted a DNC consultant that her email answer for was likely being targeted by "state-sponsored actors." The advisor had been in contact with journalists in the Ukraine about Trump card's campaign director, Paul Manafort, apparently trying to build an declared link between Manafort and Russia.

There's still no "smoking heavy weapon" to prove Russia's involvement, Harvey aforesaid. Fidelis reached its determination supported on the malware that was used. The malicious encipher, including a reused Information processing address, was found in other attacks believed to induce been carried out past the Russian hacking groups.

Non everyone agrees with those findings. A lone hacker called Guccifer 2.0 has tried to guide credit for the breach and denies having any ties to Russia. To establish his claims, he leaked some stolen DNC documents last month and said additional files were conveyed to WikiLeaks for issue.

Simply security experts are skeptical. Some believe Guccifer is office of a Russian-light-emitting diode misinformation take the field to divert blame from the commonwealth.

Even if it turns down that state-sponsored hackers were not responsible in that instance, they'll wealthy person learned from the DNC rupture, said Yonatan Striem-Amit, CTO at security firm Cybereason.

"Res publica-state actors are looking at this right instantly and realizing that they take a very important puppet for governmental influence," He said.

Russian officials take over categorically denied any intimacy with the DNC breach.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/415817/fbi-probes-dnc-hack-as-suspicions-of-russian-involvement-widen.html

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