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FBI investigate US political party hacks, Russian ties

Is Russia at the heart of the alleged intrusion into Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee systems?
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer
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The FBI is reportedly investigating a cyberattack levied against computer systems at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) which may have ties to Russian hackers.

According to Reuters, the cyberattack against the DCCC may also be linked to a recent attack against the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

The attack against the DNC led to tens of thousands of internal party emails being leaked to the public, as well as the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

The threat actors responsible have been linked to Russia due to hints in the code, however, nothing has been confirmed. Reports suggest that US intelligence agencies hold Vladmir Putin's government responsible for the leak, of which Russian cybercriminals claimed to be the source.

Accusations have been made that the attack was launched in order to meddle with the upcoming presidential election. Russia has dismissed these claims as "absurd" bordering on "stupid."

The DCCC attack may have taken place to steal information about donors, according to Reuters sources. As the DCCC raises money for Democrats running for Representative seats, knowing who is funding these campaigns -- and grabbing information including email addresses and credit card data -- could prove politically valuable.

The DCCC attack, which may have begun as early as June, included the use of a fraudulent website which mimicked the true DCCC donation website. Cash intended for campaigns then ended up to the malicious domain instead.

According to people familiar with the matter, the IP address of the fake website was similar to the one used by the alleged Russian hackers responsible for the DNC data breach.

FBI Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Thursday the agency was not ready to "make the call on attribution" as to who was responsible for the DNC hack, and there is no word on an investigation into the attack on the DCCC.

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