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Report: Russian Hackers Phished The DNC And Clinton Campaign Using Fake Gmail Forms (buzzfeed.com)

Citing a report from SecureWorks, BuzzFeed is reporting that Russian hackers "used emails disguised to look as Gmail security updates to hack into the computers of the Democratic National Committee and members of Hillary Clinton's top campaign staff": The emails were sent to 108 members of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign and 20 people clicked on them, at least four people clicking more than once, Secureworks' research found. The emails were sent to another 16 people from the DNC and four people clicked on them, the report said.

Researchers found the emails by tracing the malicious URLs set up by [state-sponsored hacking group] Fancy Bear using Bitly, a link shortening service... "We were monitoring bit.ly and saw the accounts being created in real time," said Phil Burdette, a senior security researcher at SecureWorks, explaining how they stumbled upon the the URLs set up by Fancy Bear.

The URL apparently resolved to accounts-google.com (rather than accounts.google.com), and Burdette says "They did a great job with capturing the look and feel of Google."

13 of 435 comments (clear)

  1. LOL by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Funny

    Using bit.ly. Oh the IRONY that the .ly TLD could somehow be involved in taking down Hillary Clinton.

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    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  2. Link shortening is a horrible, horrible idea by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Frankly I'm surprised we don't see this technique used more often.

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    #DeleteChrome
  3. Still Confused .... by pollarda · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm still not sure how this points to the Russians... How do we not know that it isn't some dude sitting on the beach in Tahiti and bouncing it off a server or VPN in Russia? How do we know it isn't the Chinese doing the same thing? How about a disgruntled Lithuanian? Most anybody can look like they are from anywhere. In fact, on virtually any TV show where hacking is involved, they always talk about it not being tranceable because it is "bouncing all over the world" so it isn't like the Evil Lithuanians / Chinese / Icelanders / Argentinians / etc. hackers can't figure out how to use a few VPNs or hacked machines to do their job.

    1. Re:Still Confused .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Shut up and stop making sense. Everybody knows that Russians did it because Russians are bad and they like Trump, therefore Trump and Russians are in league with each other to destroy America. That's all the evidence we need!

      Sure, we laughed at Mitt Romney 4 years ago when he said Russia was our enemy, but then again we elected an inexperienced non-insider candidate then. Now we say that the country CAN'T have an inexperienced outsider candidate, because that's not what ours is. A Wall Street endorsed 1% candidate is what's best.

    2. Re:Still Confused .... by colin_faber · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, in this case SecureWorks admits in their analysis that it's an educated guess at best. Just like all of the rest of the thin as tissue paper "evidence" that has been presented so far.

    3. Re:Still Confused .... by cryptogranny · · Score: 5, Informative

      Hi, as a Russian I'd like to make a few points.

      > if not a majority, are still running broken Windows XP and even piratated Windows 3.1.

      This is simply not true. We (not me personaly because I'm a Linux user) pirate any modern staff (MS products, Adobe, etc) very fast, partly because a lot of cracking teams are from xUSSR.

      > Since these people do not use credit cards online, they do not care about security.

      Well, it's actually simpler to use cards in Russia then in U.S to make a transfer to your buddy. But I agree about lot's of infected machines.

      > Russia cannot produce a single PC, notebook, or even a smartphone.

      That's correct. Government can't but people is another story.

      > I would not believe that it has got supernatural powers to enter firewalled hardened US government servers.

      No supernatural powers of course, but Russia is known for IT outsourcing. A lot of Russians move to U.S. to work in companies like Microsoft, Amazon and so on. The world known debugging tool IDA pro (used for cracking) is also made by Russians.

  4. Re:A little perspective by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Every election is rigged by design, because of the electoral college system. If you're just now figuring out that the elections are rigged, you slept through civics and should probably refrain from contributing to political conversations.

    The Founding Fathers created the electoral college system specifically to prevent populist perverts like Trump becoming president.

    If anyone has a beef with the electoral college, take it up with the Founding Fathers.

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    You are welcome on my lawn.
  5. Re:Clinton, Podesta, Putin and Trump by Rei · · Score: 5, Informative

    So let me get this straight. Don't trust Buzzfeed. Instead, trust "Battle Swam Blog". Got it.

    Re, the "uranium deal" thing: false and false. Meanwhile, Trump chose as his campaign manager Paul Manafort, a consultant to Yanukovitch (including being earmarked for over $12m in payments from a slush fund uncovered after Yanukovitch fled), his foreign policy advisor (Carter Page) works (present tense) for Gazprom, one of Trump's sons talked about his father having to focus on loans from Russia when he couldn't get them from the US, and how heavily they rely on Russian investment, Trump Soho turned out in court to be a money laundering organization for Russian criminals (Trump followed up by hiring its principal partner into the Trump organization), Trump bragged during a meeting in Russia that “Almost all of the oligarchs were in the room” just to meet with him, numerous Trump businesses have been financed by Russian oligarchs, Trump has repeatedly called Putin a great leader, both in isolation (without comparison to other US leaders), and in comparison to not only Obama, but Bush as well; Trump advisors intervened in the Republican Party platform on precisely one issue, that being to weaken references to supporting Ukraine; Trump claims that Russian troops aren't in Ukraine, and has endorsed Russia's Syria policy. Not to mention thinks NATO is obsolete. Oh, and whole "we don't know who did the hack, maybe it was China, maybe it was a 400 pound guy in his bedroom" line? He had already been given an intelligence briefing where US officials explicitly told him it was Russia. And then there's his knack for getting ahold of Russian propaganda faster than anyone else, like when he walked into a rally waving around a report on Clinton that had only been published (and later retracted) by Sputnik International.

    For all your propaganda that's too bad even for Russian propaganda outlets to push, Trump has your back.

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    The internet is not a series of tubes. It's more like a net. Or a network of computers. Or an internet.
  6. Re:Clinton, Podesta, Putin and Trump by khallow · · Score: 5, Informative
    Fortunately, someone remembered:

    Research led me far afield and I uncovered this gem from PolitiFact in its Pulitzer Prize-winning year of 2008. It rated as TRUE Obama's statement at the October 7, 2008, "If you've got a health care plan that you like, you can keep it."

    Five years later, only after Obama was safely elected and re-elected did PolitiFact name that claim the Lie of the Year of 2013 -- even though it dated back to 2008.

    Before and after. Same journalist wrote both and no apology for the earlier, "fact check" or the about face on the claim.

  7. Re:Clinton, Podesta, Putin and Trump by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The building was vandalized with the phrase "Nazi Republicans Leave Town or Else [twitter.com]". Who else do you think would have done it?

    It was done by an insane person, neither party has a monopoly on insanity (if you doubt it, look at the leading candidate of each party).

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    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  8. Re:Clinton, Podesta, Putin and Trump by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Looks like it has a happy ending. Democrats raised money to help rebuild it.

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    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  9. Re:Clinton, Podesta, Putin and Trump by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Someone firebombed the GOP office.

    Was it even further right wing nutjobs?
    Was it a false flag operation as they are getting desperate about losing NC?
    Was it really really dumb left wingers?
    Was it democrats?

    Who knows. I hope they catch whoever did it.

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    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
  10. Re:A little perspective by houghi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hiding behind what people did 200+ years ago means that you are either unable, but more likely unwilling to solve anything.
    So no, do NOT take it up with the founding fathers. Go out there and solve the shit that is going on yourselves.I live in a country that is younger than the US and has gone through more changes on a political level.
    Stop blaming others for the mess you are in.

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    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.