Microsoft thwarts hackers’ cyber-raid on US politicians

Russian hackers have targeted the US Senate and conservative political think tanks in a cyberattack ahead of midterm congressional elections in November, according to Microsoft.

It was the latest signal that the Kremlin is escalating its attacks on the US electoral system, two years after it attempted to subvert the 2016 presidential race. Microsoft, the world’s biggest computer software company, said it had uncovered a scheme by a group tied to the Russian government to create half a dozen fake websites.

Those included replicas of three US Senate sites, and two conservative organisations – the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the Hudson Institute.

A sixth was made to look like a site featuring Microsoft’s own online products.

It was a so-called ‘‘spear fishing’’ attack in which hackers attempt to trick victims into entering their log-in details into a fake website in order to steal their credentials, and take data from their computers.

High-profile Republican board members of the IRI include Senator John Mccain and Mitt Romney, who have both been critical of President Donald Trump’s interactions with Russia.

The Hudson Institute has also been critical of the Russian government.

Microsoft said it had uncovered the activity at an early stage and there was no evidence that any users’ data had been compromised.

It said the Russian group behind it was ‘‘Fancy Bear,’’ also known as APT 28 and Strontium, which was implicated in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 US election.

Fancy Bear has been linked to the GRU, the Kremlin’s military intelligence agency. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, said the most recent Russian activity did not appear to be aimed at helping one political party over another.

He said: ‘‘This activity is most fundamentally focused on disrupting democracy. We’re concerned that these and other attempts pose security threats to a broadening array of groups connected with both American political parties in the run-up to the 2018 elections.’’ There was ‘‘no doubt in our minds who is responsible,’’ he added.

Microsoft has waged a legal battle with Fancy Bear since 2016, shutting down a total of 84 fake websites.

Moscow again dismissed allegations that it was responsible. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said: ‘‘We don’t know what hackers they are talking about. We don’t understand what the proof and the basis is for them drawing these kind of conclusions.’’ –