Russian Hackers Said to Seek Hush Money From Liberal U.S. Groups

[highplainsdem]

Source: Bloomberg

Russian hackers are targeting U.S. progressive groups in a new wave of attacks, scouring the organizations’ emails for embarrassing details and attempting to extract hush money, according to two people familiar with probes being conducted by the FBI and private security firms.

At least a dozen groups have faced extortion attempts since the U.S. presidential election, said the people, who provided broad outlines of the campaign. The ransom demands are accompanied by samples of sensitive data in the hackers’ possession.

-snip-

Attribution is notoriously difficult in a computer attack. The hackers have used some of the techniques that security experts consider hallmarks of Cozy Bear, one of the Russian government groups identified as behind last year’s attack on the Democratic National Committee during the presidential election and which is under continuing investigation. Cozy Bear has not been accused of using extortion in the past, though separating government and criminal actors in Russia can be murky as security experts say some people have a foot in both worlds.

-snip-

The hackers’ targeting of left-leaning groups -- and the sifting of emails for sensitive or discrediting information -- has set off alarms that the attacks could constitute a fresh wave of Russian government meddling in the U.S. political system. The attacks could be designed to look like a criminal caper or they could have the tacit support of Russian intelligence agencies, the people said.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-06/russian-hackers-said-to-seek-hush-money-from-liberal-u-s-groups

[Equinox Moon]

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[dalton99a]

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[amuse bouche]

13. I will check this out

[Equinox Moon]

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[KewlKat]

21. thanks for the info. im going to check this out.

[Equinox Moon]

22. Science whistleblowers use it too.

[58Sunliner]

3. I read the article and saw the part about a supposed

donor and liberal group who talked about paying costs for some protesters and Turd has been tweeting it. It is really quite possible, and probable, I believe, that Turd is still getting info from cyber attacks and that they are looking to destabilize us. He is still colluding with the Russians and this needs to be asked by a national media. This would mean that there is still, or should be an ongoing investigation into turd.

[JudyM]

5. Chilling but important to know. Welcome to DU, 58Sunliner!

[58Sunliner]

14. Thank you!

[2naSalit]

12. I'm pretty sure that you are correct...

welcome to DU.

[riversedge]

4. One group has already paid the ransom............

Russian Hackers Said to Seek Hush Money From Liberal Groups



by Michael Riley
March 6, 2017, 4:00 AM CST March 6, 2017, 8:00 AM CST



..........................

In one case, a non-profit group and a prominent liberal donor discussed how to use grant money to cover some costs for anti-Trump protesters. The identities were not disclosed, and it’s unclear if the protesters were paid.

At least some groups have paid the ransoms even though there is little guarantee the documents won’t be made public anyway. Demands have ranged from about $30,000 to $150,000, payable in untraceable bitcoins, according to one of the people familiar with the probe..................





Cozy Bear

Attribution is notoriously difficult in a computer attack. The hackers have used some of the techniques that security experts consider hallmarks of Cozy Bear, one of the Russian government groups identified as behind last year’s attack on the Democratic National Committee during the presidential election and which is under continuing investigation. Cozy Bear has not been accused of using extortion in the past, though separating government and criminal actors in Russia can be murky as security experts say some people have a foot in both worlds.....................

[lagomorph777]

6. DNC needs to hire its own hackers.

We can only imagine the glorious dirt hiding in the bowels of Dump Tower.

[Equinox Moon]

7. The DNC needs not NOT be using things like gmail.

[lagomorph777]

8. Yeah, some real IT people would be a good hire too.

[NewJeffCT]

9. A "fresh wave"?

I don't think they ever stopped.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. The PA State Senate's Democrats' mail system being held by ransomware right now

http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/03/hackers_attack_pa_senate_democ.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/senate-democrats-pennsylvania-are-being-held-cyber-hostage-n728901

It was a big story last Friday. Not sure if it's related but the timing is odd.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. That's why regular backups are essential

My desk top PC was infected by such two years ago. It took a couple of days to clean it out before I could do a restoral.

I had saved most of my files on a portable hard drive.

[58Sunliner]

15. Thanks. Ongoing attacks, no wonder turd would like attention elsewhere.

Probably all inter-related.

[Victor_c3]

16. There is an easy way to avoid extortion attempts

Don't say anything embarrassing or contrary to the organizations core beliefs in your emails! Then let the leaks pour outs during prove the organization is true to its stated cause - even when they don't think anyone is listening.

[ThoughtCriminal]

18. Interesting that the Russians see attacking liberal groups

as a way to cripple the United States.

[Blue_Tires]

19. Greenwald and Snowden were unavailable for comment

[DeminPennswoods]

20. Read Remick's lead story in the Mar 6 New Yorker Mag

If you haven't already done so, highly recommended to read Remick and 2 co-author's story titled "Active Measures" in the Mar 6th New Yorker Mag.