This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/technology/democratic-party-says-it-has-thwarted-attempted-hack-of-voter-database.html
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Democratic Party Says It Has Thwarted Attempted Hack of Voter Database | Democratic Party Says It Has Thwarted Attempted Hack of Voter Database |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| SAN FRANCISCO — The Democratic National Committee said on Wednesday it was alerted to an attempted hack of its voter database this week and has notified law enforcement about the incident. | SAN FRANCISCO — The Democratic National Committee said on Wednesday it was alerted to an attempted hack of its voter database this week and has notified law enforcement about the incident. |
| A cybersecurity researcher from a firm called Lookout contacted the D.N.C. on Tuesday about the attempted intrusion, said two officials briefed on the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. | A cybersecurity researcher from a firm called Lookout contacted the D.N.C. on Tuesday about the attempted intrusion, said two officials briefed on the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. |
| The F.B.I. is investigating, according to one of the officials. But the attempted hack, which was described as sophisticated, was not successful, the committee. said. | |
| A Democratic Party official said the identities of those who attempted the hack were unclear, adding that the target of the effort was the party’s voter file, known as Votebuilder. The D.N.C. was hacked in 2016 during the presidential election campaign, and the incident was later traced back to Russia. | |
| The two officials said the hackers had this time set up a fake D.N.C. login page that mimicked the political party’s real website, in order to gather the names, passwords and other credentials of those using the voter database. The hackers also sent emails to people within the committee to try and trick them into using the fake login page, a tactic known as “spearphishing,” the officials said. | |
| “This attempt is further proof that there are constant threats as we head into midterm elections and we must remain vigilant in order to prevent future attacks,” said Bob Lord, chief security officer for the D.N.C. | “This attempt is further proof that there are constant threats as we head into midterm elections and we must remain vigilant in order to prevent future attacks,” said Bob Lord, chief security officer for the D.N.C. |
| “While it’s clear that the actors were going after the party’s most sensitive information — the voter file — the D.N.C. was able to prevent a hack by working with the cyber ecosystem to identify it and take steps to stop it,” he said in a statement. | “While it’s clear that the actors were going after the party’s most sensitive information — the voter file — the D.N.C. was able to prevent a hack by working with the cyber ecosystem to identify it and take steps to stop it,” he said in a statement. |
| Lookout confirmed that it had been in touch with the D.N.C., and the attempt was also detected by DigitalOcean, a cloud service provider. | Lookout confirmed that it had been in touch with the D.N.C., and the attempt was also detected by DigitalOcean, a cloud service provider. |
| Ahead of the midterm elections, political groups and government organizations have been on high alert for hacking attempts and foreign interference. | Ahead of the midterm elections, political groups and government organizations have been on high alert for hacking attempts and foreign interference. |
| Earlier this week, Microsoft said it had detected attempts by hackers tied to Russian intelligence, which targeted the Senate and conservative think tanks in the United States, also by creating fake websites of those groups. | Earlier this week, Microsoft said it had detected attempts by hackers tied to Russian intelligence, which targeted the Senate and conservative think tanks in the United States, also by creating fake websites of those groups. |
| Facebook last month also identified a political influence campaign aimed at potentially disrupting the midterms, and this week said it had uncovered other disinformation efforts targeting people around the world. | Facebook last month also identified a political influence campaign aimed at potentially disrupting the midterms, and this week said it had uncovered other disinformation efforts targeting people around the world. |
| The hack of the D.N.C. in 2016 resulted in thousands of confidential emails being released. The emails embarrassed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and may have helped to boost Donald J. Trump as a candidate. | |
| CNN earlier reported the attempted hack of the D.N.C. | CNN earlier reported the attempted hack of the D.N.C. |
| Mr. Lord said the White House also needed to get involved. | |
| “These threats are serious and that’s why it’s critical that we all work together, but we can’t do this alone,” he said. “We need the administration to take more aggressive steps to protect our voting systems.” |