New York Post

Russian hackers spied on O

- By GEOFF EARLE in Washington, DC, and BOB FREDERICKS in New York

Russian hackers penetrated a White House computer system and were able to eyeball sensitive informatio­n — including details of President Obama’s schedule thatwere supposed to be secret, a newreport said Tuesday.

The hackers were believed to be the same ones who cracked into computers at the State Department in recent months, CNN reported.

White House sources said the hackers had not accessed any classified informatio­n — but that other informatio­n considered “sensitive” was breached, including Obama’s schedule.

Such informatio­n is not classified but is still highly sensitive and prized by foreign intelligen­ce agencies, sources said.

The FBI, Secret Service and US intelligen­ce agencies are all investigat­ing the embarrassi­ng breakdown in cyber security, which they say was among the most sophistica­ted attacks ever launched against the US government, according to the CNN report.

A top Obama aide insisted the president’s classified computer system was secure — but acknowledg­ed weaknesses in the White House’s unclassifi­ed system.

“There’s always vulnerabil­ity,” adviser Ben Rhodes said.

But he would not confirm exactly what nonclassif­ied data was swiped nor would he identify the Russians as the culprits.

And a spokesman for the National Security Council downplayed the revelation.

“This report is not referring to a new incident— it is speculatin­g on the attributio­n of the activity of concern on the unclassifi­ed EOP network that the White House disclosed last year,” NSC rep Mark Stroh told The Post.

“We took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity.”

The White House acknowledg­ed in October that it detected suspicious activity on its unclassifi­ed network while assessing possible cyber threats.

One official told CNN the Russian hackers have “owned” the State Department system for months.

To get to the White House, the hackers first broke into the State Department’s computers — and may still be able to gain access at State despite beefedup security efforts.

Reports about the State Department and White House hacks also come as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in hot water over her use of a private email server in her Westcheste­r home to conduct official government business.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States