CybersecurityDemocrats brace for more e-mail leaks

The FBI on Monday said the agency is investigating the hacks of the DNC computer networks. The agency has been looking into the hack for months, and on Monday said it will “investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace.”

The FBI’s announcement follows the conclusions of cybersecurity experts that the hacks – and the release of the DNC e-mails on the eve of the Democratic Convention — were the work of Russian government hackers, whose goal was to deepen divisions within the Democratic Party in order to weaken Hillary Clinton and increase the chances of a victory by Donald Trump in November (see “Russian government hackers leaked DNC e-mails: Cybersecurity experts,” HSNW, 25 July 2016).

The Kremlin views Trump’s proposed foreign policies as more accommodating to Russian interests, and Trump and President Vladimir Putin have been exchanging complimentary comments about each other for a while.

Analysts note that Putin also has a personal point to settle with Clinton. In 2011, when Clinton was secretary of state, she publicly challenged the legitimacy and integrity of the parliamentary elections in Russia, which gave Putin’s party a large majority in the Duma. Putin at the time publicly accused Clinton of intervening in Russia’s domestic politics, and of “inciting” the opposition to his rule.

The Washington Post reports that several lawmakers have said that their computer networks have been hacked, although it is not clear whether these systems have been breached. Democrats are worried that the Russian government hackers behind the DNC hacks may have gotten their hands on other politically embarrassing e-mails and documents, and the hackers would use WikiLeaks between now and November to release these e-mails and documents in an effort to increase Trump’s chances of winning in November.

The Post quotes Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks and its current top editor, who said that the release [of the DNC e-mails] on Friday was the first in a series.

Former CIA director Michael Hayden told the Post that if the Russians were behind the leaks, “they’re clearly taking their game to another level. It would be weaponizing information.” He added: “You don’t want a foreign power affecting your election. We have laws against that.”

Former White House chief of staff William Daley, attending the convention in Philadelphia, called the Russian hack of DNC e-mails “pretty frightening.”

Given Russia’s sophistication in this realm, Daley told the Post that it would be reasonable to conclude that President Vladimir Putin and his government are behind the e-mail leak in an effort to undermine Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.

“I don’t think anybody would be surprised if Putin would try to affect the election,” Daley said in an interview Monday. “That’s like the old ‘Casablanca’ — there’s gambling in the casino. It doesn’t surprise me at all. Period. I think anybody who dismisses that is living in fairy land here.”