New Russian Hacking Targeted Republican Groups, Microsoft Says

[highplainsdem]

Source: NYT

BOSTON — The Russian military intelligence unit that sought to influence the 2016 election appears to have a new target: conservative American think tanks that have broken with President Trump and are seeking continued sanctions against Moscow, exposing oligarchs or pressing for human rights.

In a report scheduled for release on Tuesday, Microsoft Corporation said that it detected and seized websites that were created in recent weeks by hackers linked to the Russian unit formerly known as the G.R.U. The sites appeared meant to trick people into thinking they were clicking through links managed by the Hudson Institute and the International Republican Institute, but were secretly redirected to web pages created by the hackers to steal passwords and other credentials.

Microsoft also found websites imitating the United States Senate, but not specific Senate offices or political campaigns.

The shift to attacking conservative think tanks underscores the Russian intelligence agency’s goals: to disrupt any institutions challenging Moscow and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/21/us/politics/russia-cyber-hack.html

---

The article goes on to explain that the Hudson Institute has been examiming, kleptocracy in governments, especially in Russia. And the International Republican Institute has received State Department funding, and works to promote democracy around the world.

[KCDebbie]

1. So, the Russians are trying to make it look as though

They want the Dems come out on top in November?

Trump said a couple weeks ago that the Russians want Dems to take control of the House. This might be the first step in de-legitimizing any gains the Dems make in November...

[highplainsdem]

3. This looks more like an attempt to stop Republicans who still oppose Putin.

[Marie Marie]

4. Well now, maybe THIS will get the attention of the do-nothing Republicans.

Or not....

[Achilleaze]

14. Yes, this is for a PURGE...

..of republicans who are loyal to the USA, rather than Comrade Dirty Donny*

* aka republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief

[Midnight Writer]

5. Predicted by Malcom Nance. Russians help Democrats this time, and leave obvious "fingerprints".

The goal is to destroy our faith in Democracy and turn us against one another.

Funny how once again Trump announces ahead of time what Russians subsequently do.

[Corgigal]

6. Exactly where my mind went.

Malcolm Nance, hair on fire, yelling heads up. I wonder how we will deal with this.

[Astraea]

7. Exactly

[PSPS]

8. No, that's exactly NOT what this is. They're mopping up any anti-kremlin vestige left in the KGOP.

They're only targeting those GOP organizations that promote any anti-russia position.

[PSPS]

9. No. They're attacking only those few KGOP operations that are critical of putin.

[herding cats]

11. No, they're targeting threats to Putin and other Russian oligarchs.

From the linked article.

The shift to attacking conservative think tanks underscores the Russian intelligence agency’s goals: to disrupt any institutions challenging Moscow and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

<>

The International Republican Institute’s board of directors includes several Republican leaders who have been highly critical of Mr. Trump’s interactions with Mr. Putin, including a summit meeting last month between the two leaders in Helsinki, Finland.

Among them are Senator John McCain of Arizona; Mitt Romney, a former presidential candidate; and — though he was silent on Mr. Trump’s appearance in Helsinki — Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, who was replaced in the spring as the White House national security adviser. General McMaster, who is now retired, had been the author of the national security strategy that called for treating Russia as a “revisionist power” and confronting it around the world.

[C_U_L8R]

2. Hacking? Or just business as usual.

Don't forget Trumps servers with their direct pipe to Russia's Alfa Bank.

[PSPS]

10. "to disrupt any institutions challenging Moscow and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia"

There are still a few conservative outfits out there that, for example, still think putin's illegal annexation of crimea was, well, illegal. This GRU operation is intended to destroy those and, thus, consolidate putin's control of the KGOP and its agenda.

[riversedge]

12. "tried" is the key word. But Microsoft stopped. So no information was

obtained by hackers the article assumes. damn--would have loved to have seen what conservatives were chatting about. sigh!





https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/21/politics/microsoft-russia-american-politicians/index.html



The Russians tried to hack the Senate and conservative think tanks, Microsoft says

By Donie O'Sullivan, CNN

Updated 12:52 AM ET, Tue August 21, 2018


(CNN)Parts of an operation linked to Russian military intelligence targeting the US Senate and conservative think tanks were thwarted last week, Microsoft announced early Tuesday.
The company said it executed a court order giving it control of six websites created by a group known as Fancy Bear. The group was behind the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee and directed by the GRU, the Russian military intelligence unit, according to cybersecurity firms.
The websites could have been used to launch cyberattacks on candidates and other political groups ahead of November's elections, the company said.
Among the websites a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia granted Microsoft control of were those with domain names designed to resemble sites used by congressional staff. They include "senate.group," and "adfs-senate.email."

Other domains were designed to look like they were related to the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, and the International Republican Institute, whose board includes six serving senators, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Gen. H.R. McMaster.............................................

[JonLP24]

13. K&r

[demmiblue]

15. K&R