Both US political campaigns got hacked

COMPUTER SERVERS at both US presidential campaigns were penetrated and looted last summer by unknown intruders, triggering investigations by the FBI and Secret Service.

In midsummer, sysadmins at Obama's headquarters discovered what they at first thought might be a phishing virus in their systems - malware designed to steal credit-card numbers. But the very next day, both the FBI and Secret Service came calling with even worse news.

"You have a problem way bigger than what you understand," they told Obama's technicians. An agent said, "You have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off your system." White House chief of staff Josh Bolton called Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe the next day, saying "You have a real problem... and you have to deal with it."

In late August, federal investigators told Barack Obama's campaign staff that his opponent John McCain's campaign computer systems had also been penetrated in similar ways. A top McCain campaign aide reportedly confirmed that his candidate's computer system had been compromised and that the FBI was investigating.

The Obama campaign said FBI agents and White House officials believed that the intrusions were perpetrated by a foreign organisation seeking intelligence data about the candidates' policy positions, information that could help foreign governments negotiate with the next US administration. Obama's staff was told that McCain's campaign hadn't mounted the attack.

Computer technicians working for Obama later speculated that Russian or Chinese hackers were responsible for the computer intrusions. A security firm hired by the Obama campaign disinfected the systems and installed measures to improve their security.

Reached earlier this week, the White House and the FBI reportedly declined to comment. µ

L'Inq's
Newsweek
Computerworld