On Monday, the FBI confirmed it was investigating a hack into the DNC, the first acknowledgment from the agency that they are probing the incident, which US officials suspect came from a Russian cyber attack.
"The FBI is investigating a cyber intrusion involving the DNC and are working to determine the nature and scope of the matter," the agency said in a statement. "A compromise of this nature is something we take very seriously, and the FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace."
Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" Sunday about that "changes to the Republican platform to make it more pro-Russian," which could provide some of the motive behind the hacks.
Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., denied that his father's campaign had anything to do with encouraging Russians to hack the DNC.
James Trainor, assistant director for FBI's cyber division, told CNN in a recent interview that the bureau has been working with political organizations and think tanks to put more resources into the security of their computer networks. He wouldn't discuss the DNC or the role of Russia, but spoke generally about the increased number of such intrusions.
"There's been aggressive targeting of that sector, the various campaigns, think tanks in the Washington, DC area," Trainor said. "(The) targeting of any candidate or any party (that) has political intelligence. There's value in information there if you're a nation state actor, so (it) shouldn't be surprising."
The FBI and other US agencies involved haven't yet officially attributed the DNC attack to Russian government hackers. But evidence gathered by the FBI so far points to groups that are known to US counter-intelligence for carrying out intrusions for the Russian government, the officials briefed on the probe say. The release of the emails over the weekend, however, raised new questions among government and private sector security officials. |