RNC hack: According to a new investigation by Bloomberg, the Republican National Committee (RNC) was hacked by Russian hackerswith ties to the country's government. So far, no evidence has been presented to prove this, while the RNC denies that its systems were compromised.
See also: Central Bank of Denmark: Russian hackers had access to its network for months
According to Bloomberg, Russian hackers, known as the “Cozy Bear” group and previously linked to Russia’s SVR intelligence service, gained access to RNC systems, but it’s not clear what they saw or if they stole any data. It’s believed the hackers gained access to the RNC through an IT provider, Synnex Corp.
The Bloomberg report states that the incident took place last weekend on July 4th, around the same time that another hacking group (the REvil ransomware gang) launched a massive ransomware attack, exploiting a vulnerability in software from the company Kaseya.
Learn more: REvil ransomware Kaseya: Russians attacked 200 American companies
Republican National Committee (RNC) hack
However, the group responsible for the alleged attack on the Republican National Committee (RNC) is Cozy Bear, which has also been blamed for large parts of the “SolarWinds”, which compromised about a dozen federal agencies and American businesses. The group, also known as APT29, has also been linked to the breach of the Democratic National Committee.
See also: USA: Domains used by APT29 in recent phishing campaign seized
RNC officials have admitted that IT provider Synnex was hacked this weekend, but they maintain that there is no evidence that the RNC's networks were compromised in any way or that any data was stolen.
“Microsoft has informed us that the systems of one of our suppliers, Synnex, may have been exposed,” said Mike Reed, a spokesman for the RNC. “There is no indication that the RNC has been compromised or that any information has been stolen. We are investigating the matter and have notified DHS and the FBI.”
In a statement issued Tuesday, RNC Chief of Staff Richard Waltersreiterated that no data was stolen: “Over the weekend, we learned that Synnex, a third-party provider, was breached. We immediately disabled all access to Synnex accounts in the cloud environment. Our team worked with Microsoft to conduct a review of our systems, and after a thorough investigation, we determined that no RNC data was accessed. We will continue to work with Microsoft, as well as federal law enforcement officials.”
The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and Russia over the handling of cyberattacks, with many blaming Bidenfor not putting enough pressure on Vladimir Putin over Russian cybercriminals.
Source: Gizmodo
