UPDATED 22:15 EST / JUNE 13 2017

INFRA

Report: Russian election hacking worse than we thought, targeting systems in 39 states

Russian hackers are alleged to have targeted election systems in 39 states, according to a report published Tuesday.

Bloomberg, citing sources “with direct knowledge of the U.S. investigation,” claims that incursions into voter databases and software systems occurred in almost twice as many states as previously reported.

Among the states targeted, the report, said, are Illinois, where it is alleged that investigators have found evidence that cyberintruders tried to delete or alter voter data. The hackers are also said to have accessed software designed to be used by poll workers on Election Day, and in at least one state accessed a campaign finance database.

The report also claims that the Obama administration contacted Moscow via a modern-day red phone in October to complain about the hacks and to offer information that showed that Russian hackers were behind the hacks. In addition, Bloomberg said, officials warned Russia that the hackers “risked setting off a broader conflict,” a tacit threat of either retaliatory cyberespionage or perhaps something as extreme as military action.

The report backs a leaked document from a National Security Agency contractor last week that also alleged that the Russian government had hacked an election-related hardware and software vendor and then used the data obtained to launch at least two “spear phishing” campaigns that tried to fool people into thinking an email came from someone they know. Those campaigns are claimed to have targeted some 122 local government election officials.

The NSA report did not state whether the campaign had any effect on the election’s outcome and notes that much remains unknown about the extent of the hackers’ accomplishments. The new report from Bloomberg makes no claims of successful election interference either.

While multiple reports have now claimed attempted Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, the Trump administration continues to deny any links to the alleged hacking attempts. Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified before a congressional hearing Tuesday that suggested he could have colluded with Russia prior to the election were “appalling and detestable lies” and “false and scurrilous” attacks against him.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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