Data breach: Heritage Foundation emails, donor info stolen

[riversedge]

Last edited Wed Sep 2, 2015, 08:45 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Politico


By Tim Starks

09/02/15, 07:27 PM EDT


The Heritage Foundation suffered a data breach this week in which intruders swiped sensitive emails and donor information, the right-wing think tank confirmed Wednesday.

Some of those stolen files may have since started surfacing on the Internet.

"We experienced a malicious, unauthorized data breach of six-year-old documents on an external server that appear to contain personal information of private donors, who we are notifying,” said spokesman Wesley Denton. “We are unable to verify the authenticity of files circulated online.”

The breach occurred at the same time that the foundation’s multimedia news organization, the Daily Signal, has criticized the Obama administration and federal agencies such as the Office of Personnel Management over lax cybersecurity. One article in July was headlined “How Obama’s Poor Judgment Led to the Chinese Hack of OPM.”

Last month, Riley Walters, a research assistant at the Heritage Foundation’s Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, wrote that “the IRS breach, in addition to the OPM hack, continues to raise serious questions regarding the government’s competency in securing important information.”

Wednesday's news is a reminder that even organizations that warn of loose cybersecurity can suffer attacks themselves..............

Read more:


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/heritage-foundation-emails-donor-data-stolen-in-data-breach-213292#ixzz3kcyHgRIg

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Newt Gingrich is seen in front of The Heritage Foundation logo in 2012. | AP Photo

[randys1]

1. Some of the most harmful people on the planet.

[Judi Lynn]

32. You bet they are. They also are wildly shallow, pompous asses. n/t

[FreepFryer]

2. I GUARANTEE...

...there will be a statistically meaningful overlap between those individuals in Heritage's data leak vs those on the Ashley Madison and Rentboy.com databases now available to FBI/CIA/NSA. Fun stuff!

[bucolic_frolic]

6. As easy as ....

pointing your baseball bat to the bleachers

HOME RUN!

[NJCher]

24. I was thinking the same thing: fun, indeed!

Figure that out in 10" with a duplicate email checker.



Cher

[cstanleytech]

3. I wonder if Walters is enjoying his hypocrisy sandwich?

[jalan48]

4. This should be fun.

[eggplant]

5. That's terrible! Just... um... terrible. yea. n/t

[JohnnyLib2]

7. Please let some Limbaugh dribble show up!

[TexasTowelie]

8. I wonder how many of the files on their server

contain classified government material?

Schadenfreude?

[lobodons]

9. No Data breach on Clinton's server

Not so much here on Heritage Foundation or Ashley Madison, or even the Govt's servers. Just saying...????

[Psephos]

20. If you think the Chinese and Russians didn't hack Clinton's server, you are naive.

Very naive.

[Midnight Writer]

25. If you think the Chinese and Russians didn't hack State Dept. server, you are naive

Very naive.

[Psephos]

26. duh n/t

[Midnight Writer]

27. You have left me speechless; I have no response to your incredibly rational arguement

[Psephos]

28. as expected n/t

[Midnight Writer]

29. But seriously, Psephos, we know State Department communications were intercepted

You can read them on Wikileaks.

And if Wikileaks can do it, you have to assume that all electronic government communications are compromised, by foreign governments, corporations or just bored teenagers.

[Psephos]

30. you seem to think I disagree

I don't.

[leftofcool]

34. Uh, no they did not.

I could go into great detail here but your post is just not worth it.

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. I hope the hackers wore hazmat gear.

BTW, that "bell" looking thing over Newt's head looks like a cabbage chopper. LOL!

[Leith]

11. Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Bunch

Sorry, it's schedenfreude...

I'm getting cranky in my old age.

[Sunlei]

12. They're scared of what will be revealed “We are unable to verify the authenticity of files circulate

“We are unable to verify the authenticity of files circulated online.”

[NBachers]

19. A little creative file creation would be tempting . . .

[asiliveandbreathe]

13. Karma is a beautiful thing!!!!

What a nice bunch to have had their data breached - pass the popcorn please.... .

[riversedge]

17. I thought the same.

[Monk06]

14. Oooooooooooooooo !! Can't wait to see the underwear stains !!

[Wellstone ruled]

15. Bring it baby!

Thank you Hacksters,the public needs to know.

[blackspade]

16. Call the whaaambulance.

[ToxMarz]

18. From what I read on DU anymore, I expect

no doubt we will learn that Hillary is their Manchurian Candidate

[PosterChild]

22. Naw,

Hillery'server is stronger than their server.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_kung_fu_is_stronger_than_yours

[erronis]

21. In the latest announcement from Heritage Fund: No Intelligence was lost

The fund (or foundation) made sure that all intelligence was kept below significant.

[Brother Buzz]

23. Condi Rice is a heavy hitter at the Heritage Foundation, too.

[friendly_iconoclast]

31. UPDATE: Gawker is claiming it was a Heritage IT blunder, not a hack or leak

http://gawker.com/leaked-files-show-how-the-heritage-foundation-navigates-1727706821

[bemildred]

33. Excellent. nt

[ShrimpPoboy]

35. I don't support Heritage

or agree with them on any issue I'm aware of, but stealing is still wrong and it's an ongoing problem in the digital world now that affects us all. If that's indeed what happened, I hope the people responsible are prosecuted. This isn't a reveal of government wrongs, it's stealing private information, most likely for partisan political gain.

[tabasco]

36. Couldn't happen to a nastier bunch of assholes. n/t