FBI Chief: Russian Hackers Exploited Outdated RNC Server, But Not Trump Campaign

Dark Reading Staff, Dark Reading

January 11, 2017

1 Min Read

Russian state-sponsored hackers attacked Republican state political campaigns, and compromised an old Republican National Committee (RNC) server, but did not penetrate the "current RNC" or the campaign of president-elect Donald Trump, FBI director James Comey told lawmakers at a Senate hearing Tuesday.

Reuters reports that Comey told lawmakers the FBI "'did not develop any evidence that the Trump campaign, or the current RNC, was successfully hacked.' He did not say whether Russia had tried to hack Trump's campaign."

Russia did not release any information obtained through these compromises of state campaigns or old RNC email domains, Comey said, reports Reuters. 

From the New York Times:

Mr. Comey said Tuesday that there was 'evidence of hacking directed at the state level' and at the R.N.C., 'but that it was old stuff.' He said there was no evidence 'that the current R.N.C.' — he appeared to be referring to servers at the committee's headquarters or contractors with current data — had been hacked.

There is no evidence that computers used by the Trump campaign or the Clinton campaign were also compromised, though the personal email account of John D. Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, was copied and released as part of the Russian-ordered hack.

According to the Times, the "old stuff" to which Comey referred appeared to be a single email server used by the RNC that was soon going out of service and contained outdated material.  

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Dark Reading Staff

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