Chattanooga Times Free Press

Russia is suspected of more campaign hacking,

- BY ALAN FRAM

WASHINGTON — The computers of the House Democratic campaign committee have been hacked, an intrusion that investigat­ors say resembles the recent cyber breach of the Democratic National Committee for which the Russian government is the leading suspect.

The digital break-in at the Democratic Congressio­nal Campaign Committee, which the organizati­on acknowledg­ed Friday, added another layer of mystery to the hacking of Democratic Party informatio­n that has been revealed in the heat of this year’s presidenti­al and congressio­nal elections.

Details were initially unclear about exactly who tapped into the computers and which informatio­n was accessed at the congressio­nal campaign committee, which raises money and provides other assistance for Democratic House candidates. Spokeswoma­n Meredith Kelly said the committee was “the target of a cybersecur­ity incident” and was informed by investigat­ors “that this is similar to other recent incidents, including the DNC breach.”

President Barack Obama has said Russia was almost certainly responsibl­e for the hack of the Democratic National Committee, an assertion with which cybersecur­ity experts have agreed. That breach led to the release by WikiLeaks on July 22, days before the Democratic national convention began, of 19,000 emails showing that supposedly neutral party officials were favoring Hillary Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders during their primary contest for the presidenti­al nomination.

As a result of that disclosure, party chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., announced her resignatio­n this week.

Kelly said the congressio­nal campaign committee is using CrowdStrik­e Inc., a computer security firm based in Irvine, Calif., and is “cooperatin­g with the federal law enforcemen­t with respect to their ongoing investigat­ion.” She said her organizati­on is “continuing to take steps to enhance the security of our network in the face of these recent events.”

A House Democratic aide said late Thursday the FBI is investigat­ing the hack. The aide was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigat­ion and spoke on condition of anonymity.

White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said he is aware of the reports about hacking but referred questions to the FBI. The FBI did not immediatel­y respond to a request for comment.

CrowdStrik­e issued a statement confirming its work for the congressio­nal campaign committee but provided no additional details.

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