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Microsoft Claims It Thwarted Russian Phishing Attacks on Conservative Think Tanks

posted by chromas on Tuesday August 21 2018, @04:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the phishers-of-men dept.

takyon writes:

Microsoft claims win over 'Russian political hackers'

Russian attempts to launch cyber-attacks against US conservative groups have been thwarted, Microsoft says. The software company said Russian hackers had tried to steal data from political organisations, including the International Republican Institute and the Hudson Institute think tanks. But they had been thwarted when its security staff had won control of six net domains mimicking their websites.

Microsoft said the Fancy Bear hacking group had been behind the attacks. "We're concerned that these and other attempts pose security threats to a broadening array of groups connected with both American political parties in the run-up to the 2018 elections," Microsoft said in its blog detailing its work.

The thwarted attack was likely the start of a "spear phishing" campaign, said Microsoft. This would involve tricking people into visiting the mimicked domains allowing the Fancy Bear group to see and steal login information that people use. As well as the two think-tanks, the domains seized were associated with several Senate offices and services. One domain sought to mimic Microsoft's Office 365 online service.

Russia has denied Microsoft's allegations that it targeted the right-wing think-tanks.

Also at NYT, Reuters, and The Hill.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday August 21 2018, @07:09PM (6 children)

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @07:09PM (#724314) Journal

    The rise of the anti-PAC Democrat [pbs.org]

    A growing number of Democrats running for Congress in 2018 are foregoing contributions from political action committees, opting for a more grassroots approach to fundraising in a bid to appeal to the party’s progressive base.

    ...

    Now, looking to the midterms, Democrats are “championing bold reform agendas, including getting dark money out of politics and limiting the influence of corporate special interests,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Tyler Law said in a statement. He added that the rejecting money from political action committees, or PACs, is “particularly powerful because it appeals to voters across the political spectrum.”

    ...one of 51 candidates endorsed by Justice Democrats, an organization founded last year that is supporting candidates in 2018 races who don’t take “corporate PAC or corporate lobbyist money,” according to the group’s website

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Informative=3, Total=3
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   5  

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:38PM

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:38PM (#724365)

    I modded your comment +1 Informative, because it is, but I can't see the people and organisations who run the US letting these anti-PAC Democrats have their way if the Justice Democrats are even being honest about their intentions.

    I suppose we will find out in due course.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:52PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @08:52PM (#724373)

    Is it anti-pac and former spy or anti-pac vs former spy?
    https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/03/07/dems-m07.html [wsws.org]

    • (Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @09:13PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @09:13PM (#724381)

      Is this a list of the candidates? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_Democrats [wikipedia.org]

      The original article said 51 people were running under the anti-PAC label but I count 0/4 for senate and 42/71 eliminated from house races with 8 TBA and 21 wins/advances. I spot checked a few of the winners and they didnt seem particularly "deep state" heavy.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @01:10PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 22 2018, @01:10PM (#724638)

        How in the world is this a troll?

        • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:18PM

          by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 22 2018, @02:18PM (#724656) Journal

          I agree with you - I've redressed that mod by adding my own.

  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:20PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Tuesday August 21 2018, @11:20PM (#724453) Journal

    Nice! Looks like Bernie was a GOOD influence on them.

    Too bad they didn't see that earlier: HE might be president.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---