State Democrats Warn Party About Hacks
State Democrats getting hacked, party email warns
By Eric Geller and Kenneth P. Vogel
Democrats have alleged that these ongoing hacks and leaks are part of a strategic campaign by Russian leaders to tilt the election in favor of GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Hackers are targeting state Democratic Party officials and have successfully breached and impersonated some of them, according to a message the Association of State Democratic Chairs sent Wednesday to its members.
“A number of chairs and state parties have been victims of hacks and impersonation recently,” read the email, which POLITICO obtained.
The message, titled “Security Alert: Please Do Not Search Wikileaks!,” warned recipients to avoid the anti-secrecy site — which has posted leaked material from the Democratic National Committee — because of concerns about malware embedded in the leaks.
“Due to the potential of malware attached to the site, we are under advisement from [interim DNC] Chair [Donna] Brazile to stay away in the interest of maintaining some security,” added the email, written by Raymond Buckley, president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, which is affiliated with the DNC.
The memo comes on the heels of a new dump of DNC information, allegedly pilfered during a suspected Russian cyberattack on the committee earlier this year. The mammoth trove of files released on Tuesday included information about the DNC’s finances and detailed information on Democratic donors.
Buckley’s warning echoes remarks that Brazile made Tuesday night, following the most recent leak.
“We would urge anyone attempting to access these documents to proceed with extreme caution given the potential malware risks,” she said.
State Democratic Party officials are increasingly concerned about possible cyber breaches, said a Democratic operative who works with several state parties, and who was briefed on Buckley’s email.
“Everyone is hypersensitive about email hacks these days,” the operative said.
On Monday, Buckley posted on Facebook that his Twitter account was hacked last week and that Facebook had warned him about someone pretending to be him and trying to delete his profile. “Three other Dem State Chairs had their emails hacked,” he wrote in his post, which has since been deleted. “Interesting times.”
POLITICO reached out to multiple leaders of the state parties association but did not hear back.
Democrats have alleged that these ongoing hacks and leaks are part of a strategic campaign by Russian leaders to tilt the election in favor of GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Earlier leaked emails from the DNC — which were posted on WikiLeaks — forced the resignation of former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz this summer and fueled allegations of party bias against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
The Obama administration has not yet publicly blamed Moscow for the hacks, although it reportedly suspects the Kremlin is involved.
Cory Bennett contributed to this report.
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