The unknown identity of a mysterious hacker claiming to be the sole architect behind the infiltration of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has raised fears that Russia may be trying to influence the U.S. election. The idea sounds like the work of conspiracy theorists — but both security and foreign policy experts say it fits with a historical pattern of Russian intelligence operations. “I think it would naive of us to rule that out,” said Jason Healey, a director at the Atlantic Council who has worked on cyber defenses at the White House. The hack comes as the Senate is weighing its annual intelligence policy bill, which would establish a committee specifically to counter “active measures by Russia to exert covert influence.” The firm that investigated the breach for the DNC attributed the attack to the Russian government and most onlookers originally interpreted it as traditional espionage — a straightforward way of gathering intelligence about the American political landscape, something the U.S. itself does.
But things became much murkier when a hacker calling himself or herself “Guccifer 2.0” dumped a trove of documents he claimed were among “thousands” stolen from the committee. The documents have yet to be verified but include opposition research on Donald Trump and a dossier of ways to defend Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton against political attacks.
“What appears evident is that the Russian groups responsible for the DNC hack are intent on attempting to influence the outcome of this election,” a spokesman for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign told Bloomberg after the outlet reported that the same hackers behind the DNC breach had infiltrated the Clinton Foundation.
“Significance is more than docs,” tweeted ex-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. “Hacktivists, possibly state-sponsored, now demonstrating intent — and capability — to influence elections.”
Full Article: Is Moscow trying to influence Trump-Clinton race? | TheHill.