Hack thwarted on Dem voter data
CHICAGO — The Democratic National Committee thwarted an attempted hack of its massive voter database, an official said Wednesday, two years after Russian operatives sent the party into disarray by breaking into its computers and facilitating the release of tens of thousands of emails online amid the presidential election.
DNC security contractors notified the party Tuesday that hackers had created a fake login page to gather usernames and passwords in an effort to gain access to the Democratic Party’s voter file, a party official said. The file contains information on tens of millions of voters. The attempt was quickly thwarted by suspending the attacker’s account, and no information was compromised, the official said. The FBI was notified.
The official wasn’t authorized to speak about sensitive security information and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Government and tech officials say it’s too early to know who was behind the attempt. The FBI declined to comment to the AP.
The hacking attempt comes as Democrats gather for their summer meeting. The party’s cybersecurity has been an issue since the 2016 presidential election, when Russian hackers compromised DNC servers and publicly revealed internal communications that exploited divisions between Bernie Sanders’ and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns as the two candidates vied for the Democratic presidential nomination. Hackers also accessed the email accounts of Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, and systematically released the contents throughout the fall campaign.