[Russian military hackers targeted a voting software company and more than 100 U.S. local election officials in a massive cyberattack days before the presidential election, according to a secret National Security Agency report. The classified document, which was published by The Intercept on Monday, describes in detail how Russian hackers conducted a spear-phishing scheme aimed at America’s election infrastructure, penetrating the system deeper than previously believed. The report was confirmed by the government, which later Monday announced the arrest of a private contractor for allegedly leaking the confidential report to the news outlet.
(Understandably, this is the very first arrest in the ongoing Russiagate scam. Rather unlikely to be the last.)] http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nsa-report-says-russians-targeted-us-voting-infrastructure-alleged-leaker-arrested-2017-06-05 Contractor arrested after leak of NSA report saying Russians tried to hack U.S. voting system By Mike Murphy Published: June 6, 2017 7:07 a.m. ET Secret report says Russian cyberattack penetrated deeper than previously believed Reality Leigh Winner, 25, a federal contractor charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for sending classified material to a news organization, poses in a picture posted to her Instagram account. ***Russian military hackers targeted a voting software company and more than 100 U.S. local election officials in a massive cyberattack days before the presidential election, according to a secret National Security Agency report.*** [Emphasis added.] ***The classified document, which was published by The Intercept on Monday, describes in detail how Russian hackers conducted a spear-phishing scheme aimed at America’s election infrastructure, penetrating the system deeper than previously believed.*** [Emphasis added.] ***The report was confirmed by the government, which later Monday announced the arrest of a private contractor for allegedly leaking the confidential report to the news outlet.*** [Emphasis added.] Reality Leigh Winner, 25, who reportedly worked at an NSA facility in Georgia, was arrested over the weekend. Federal authorities said she printed out a copy of the report and mailed it to The Intercept. The NSA report said operatives from the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, apparently targeted employees at VR Systems, a Florida-based company that supplies election software and equipment for eight states, last August and again in late October. Russian President Vladimir Putin denied during an interview aired Sunday that his government meddled in the U.S. election, though he admitted last week that “patriotic” Russian individuals may have acted on their own. The spear-phishing attack, which used a deceptive email to upload malware and steal user logins, was also aimed at 122 local government organizations in late October, the report said. Though apparently only successful a handful of times, that was enough to give the Russians a back door into the system so the hackers could hijack control of their computers, the report said. [Video: Can White House Make Progress Amid Russia Probe?] The NSA document did not say if the cyberattack had any effect on election results and admitted much is still unknown, but it “raises the possibility that Russian hacking may have breached at least some elements of the voting system, with disconcertingly uncertain results,” The Intercept said. The NSA report said the Russian effort intended “to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency.” Publication of the report comes just days ahead of Thursday’s highly anticipated testimony from former FBI Director James Comey, who will appear before a Senate committee investigating Russia’s alleged role in influencing the election. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
