Chinese government hackers are targeting America's state political parties: FBI
During the 2016 election season, Russian hackers went after the national Republican and Democratic Party servers. Now according to the FBI, China is setting its sights on state parties, which likely have lower resources available for tech security.
The Washington Post revealed that government hackers are scanning domains looking for possible vulnerabilities. Thus far, none of the possible targets have been hacked or breached.
“The FBI is being considerably more proactive,” a senior U.S. official told the Post. “It’s part of a larger move that the FBI isn’t waiting for the attack to occur. They’re increasingly trying to prevent.”
The official explained that scanning a network is likely part of a “comprehensive broad campaign” against the targets. “This is what they do.”
The FBI said that they visited at least a dozen Republican Party headquarters offices. Agents spoke to Democratic parties in several states, but apparently didn't visit them personally.
"The DNC and state parties have been in contact with the FBI,” the official said. “There is no evidence that any systems have been compromised.”
“The RNC remains secure and we have not been compromised,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Emma Vaughn said in a statement to the Post. “Cybersecurity remains a top priority for the entire Republican ecosystem, which is why we place a premium on ensuring our stakeholders have the necessary tools, resources and training on best practices so that our Party remains protected and vigilant.”
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