Twelve Russian intelligence agents have been indicted for hacking the DNC - Ttheverge

A grand jury has delivered indictments against 12 officers of the Russian military in connection with 2016 hacks of the Democratic National Committee, as part of an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Many of the defendants are identified as agents of Russia’s GRU intelligence agency. The indictments allege an ongoing attempt to compromise election infrastructure — including attacks on state boards of election, secretaries of state, and election software providers. However, the indictment does not allege that the campaign ultimately affected vote tallies.

The attacks were largely carried out through spear-phishing attacks using malware called “X-agent” to collect passwords through keylogging and screenshots. (X-Agent and related tools like X-Tunnel have long been associated with GRU-sponsored hacking campaigns.) The group also purchased servers and other infrastructure using bitcoin in an effort to maintain anonymity, leading to an additional money-laundering charge. By June 2016, the group allegedly had access to 33 computers at the DNC.

The hack was part of a broader influence campaign, which culminated in the publication of emails stolen from DNC servers in the opening days of the Democratic Convention. Many of the documents were released through WikiLeaks and other outlets in an effort to launder the source of the data. Both DC Leaks and Guccifer 2.0 are specifically named in the indictment as fronts for Russian GRU agents. The indictment also alleges that Guccifer 2.0 was contacted by the campaign staff for a Republican Congressional candidate, and responded by releasing further documents through private channels. The specific campaign is not named. - Read More

Twelve Russian GRU intelligence agents have been indicted for DNC ...

12 Russians indicted in hacking of Hillary Clinton's presidential ...

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