Obama, McCain campaigns' computers hacked for policy data Sources say that a foreign entity wanted policy information Sources won't identify hackers in any way, including by country Hacking occurred during mid-summer part of campaign FBI, Secret Service told Obama campaign "you have been compromised"
From CNN Senior Producer Kevin Bohn and CNN Correspondent Brian Todd
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Computers at the headquarters of the Barack Obama and John McCain campaigns were hacked during the campaign by a foreign entity looking for future policy information, a source with knowledge of the incidents confirms to CNN.
The source said the computers were hacked mid-summer by either a foreign government or organization.
Another source, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation, says federal investigators approached both campaigns with information the U.S. government had about the hacking, and the campaigns then hired private companies to mitigate the problem.
U.S. authorities, according to one of the sources, believe they know who the foreign entity responsible for the hacking is, but refused to identify it in any way, including what country.
The source, confirming the attacks that were first reported by Newsweek, said the sophisticated intrusions appeared aimed at gaining information about the evolution of policy positions in order to gain leverage in future dealings with whomever was elected.
The FBI is investigating, one of the sources confirmed to CNN. The FBI and Secret Service refused comment on the incidents.
The sources refused to speak on the record due to the ongoing investigation and also because it is a sensitive matter involving presidential politics.
As described by a Newsweek reporter with special access while working on a post-campaign special, workers in Obama's headquarters first detected what they thought was a computer virus that was trying to obtain users' personal information.
The next day, agents from the FBI and Secret Service came to the office and said, "You have a problem way bigger than what you understand ... you have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off your system."
One of the sources told CNN the hacking into the McCain campaign computers occurred around the same time as the breach into those of Obama's campaign.
Representatives of the campaigns could not be reached for comment on the matter.
-------------------- It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious. Posts: 3311 | From: St. Louis | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
I think you are right Pagan. It is one of the two...
I believe there were quite a few reports that came out between 1998 and 2000 about how the Chinese were focused on developing methods of "Electronic Warfare" to use against the United States. Methods included disruption/destruction of US satellite capabilities, and Internet attacks/hacking, among several others. (I'll try to dig up a few references for that if needed...)
My bet is that China was behind this latest incident, but I have no doubt that any information gleaned from this "attack" will eventually be shared with the Russians so in truth, which one of the two did it is probably a moot point.
NR.
-------------------- One is never completely useless. One can always serve as a bad example. Posts: 2430 | From: CA | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Cyber attacks on McCain and Obama teams 'came from China'
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Published: November 7 2008 02:00 | Last updated: November 7 2008 02:00
US government cyber experts suspect that an attack on the Obama and McCain campaign computer networks this summer originated from China, according to a US official.
Earlier this summer, the Secret Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Barack Obama's and John McCain's campaign teams that their computer networks had been compromised by foreign hackers.
The cyber attackers successfully downloaded large quantities of information from the campaign networks, which security agencies believed was an attempt to learn more about the contenders' policy positions.
The official said investigators had determined that the attacks originated from China, but cautioned that they had not ascertained whether they were government-sponsored, or just unaffiliated hackers.
Details of the incident were first revealed by a Newsweek, which reported that FBI and Secret Service agents informed the Obama team of the cyber attack this summer. The report said technical experts on the Obama team had speculated that the attacks came from China or Russia.
One person familiar with the incident said the Secret Service alerted the campaigns after the security breaches were detected by a government team tasked with detecting cyber attacks. The campaigns hired private cyber security companies to address the breaches.
Newsweek said the problem prompted Josh Bolten, White House chief of staff, to call David Plouffe, Mr Obama's campaign manager, and say: "You have a real problem . . . you have to deal with it."
Dana Perino, White House press secretary, declined to comment.
Richard Kolko, FBI spokesman, and the Secret Service declined to comment. The McCain campaign team did not comment, while the Obama campaign did not respond to calls and e-mails.
The Bush administration has ramped up cyber security over the past year as networks across the government increasingly come under cyber attack.
The Chinese military last year hacked into the Pentagon system serving Robert Gates, the defence secretary, stealing information from an unclassified network in the most serious breach of the military's computer network.
-------------------- It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious. Posts: 3311 | From: St. Louis | Registered: Feb 2005
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