CybersecurityRussia-based hackers tried to break into Hillary Clinton's private server
Russian hackers, on five separate occasions, tried to break into Hillary Clinton’s server. The malicious e-mails, disguised as New York City parking tickets, were contained in the latest batch of records released by the State Department. There is no indication that these attempts were successful or that the suspicious zip files were opened by Clinton, but her personal e-mail address was a tightly-held secret and the hacking attempts raise the question of whether she was specifically targeted.
Russian hackers, on five separate occasions, tried to break into Hillary Clinton’s server.
The malicious e-mails, disguised as New York City parking tickets, were contained in the latest batch of records released by the State Department.
Fox News reports that there is no indication that these attempts were successful or that the suspicious zip files were opened by Clinton, but her personal e-mail address was a tightly-held secret and the hacking attempts raise the question of whether she was specifically targeted.
The five e-mails do not contain identifying marks beyond the fake New York police address, but include the instructions “to plead, print out the enclosed ticket” and an attached file named “Ticket-728-2011.zip.”
The AP on Wednesday evening reported that the zip file contained malicious software, directing an infected computer to transmit information to three addresses overseas, including one in Russia.
The attempts to hack Clinton’s computer resemble “phishing” techniques often used by fraudsters, but there is no evidence of involvement by the Russian government.
The five e-mails, sent within a short period of time in August 2011, contain instructions to reply to a court in the misspelled New York town of “Chatam,”, or Chatham — a two hour drive from the Clinton family home in Chappaqua.
Clinton has insisted that she did not send or receive any classified e-mails, but the status of the information contained in a small number of e-mails has subsequently been changed as the information was reclassified.
The Clinton campaign said on Wednesday that the five suspicious e-mails were not a proof of a hacking attempt, but rather that they were spam.
“We have no evidence to suggest she replied to this e-mail nor that she clicked on the attachment,” spokesman Nick Merrill told Politico. “As we have said before, there is no evidence that the system was ever breached. All these e-mails show is that, like millions of other Americans, she received spam.”
