"The computer systems of both the Obama and McCain
campaigns were victims of a sophisticated cyberattack by an unknown
"foreign entity," prompting a federal investigation, NEWSWEEK reports
today.
At the Obama headquarters in midsummer,
technology experts detected what they initially thought was a computer
virus—a case of "phishing," a form of hacking often employed to steal
passwords or credit-card numbers. But by the next day, both the FBI and
the Secret Service came to the campaign with an ominous warning: "You
have a problem way bigger than what you understand," an agent told
Obama’s team. "You have been compromised, and a serious amount of files
have been loaded off your system." The following day, Obama campaign
chief David Plouffe heard from White House chief of staff Josh Bolten,
to the same effect: "You have a real problem … and you have to deal
with it." The Feds told Obama’s aides in late August that the McCain
campaign’s computer system had been similarly compromised. A top McCain
official confirmed to NEWSWEEK that the campaign’s computer system had
been hacked and that the FBI had become involved.
Officials
at the FBI and the White House told the Obama campaign that they
believed a foreign entity or organization sought to gather information
on the evolution of both camps’ policy positions—information that might
be useful in negotiations with a future administration. The Feds
assured the Obama team that it had not been hacked by its political
opponents. (Obama technical experts later speculated that the hackers
were Russian or Chinese.) A security firm retained by the Obama
campaign took steps to secure its computer system and end the
intrusion. White House and FBI officials had no comment earlier this
week."
Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/id/167581/page/1
