Russian hackers reportedly targeted a campaign advisory firm with ties to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
According to a new report from Reuters, Microsoft warned the firm, called SKDKnickerbocker, of the hack. The hacking attempts took place over the past two months, but Reuters reports that hackers failed to infiltrate the firm’s network.
The hackers reportedly used various phishing techniques to try to infiltrate SKDK’s network.
Digital Trends reached out to SKDKnickerbocker and the Biden campaign for comment. We will update this story when we hear back.
The report prepared by special counsel Robert Mueller last year found that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election, so attempts like this one by Russian hackers aren’t a good sign. However, government agencies such as the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are regularly meeting with tech platforms to fight election interference and hacking attempts.
In June, both Biden and President Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns’ Gmail accounts were targeted by foreign hackers. Hackers from Iran and China reportedly targeted campaign staffers’ Gmail accounts.
Biden’s campaign told Digital Trends at the time that they were preparing for an attack like this one.
“We have known from the beginning of our campaign that we would be subject to such attacks and we are prepared for them,” a campaign spokesperson said. “Biden for President takes cybersecurity seriously, we will remain vigilant against these threats, and will ensure that the campaign’s assets are secured.”
In that instance, there was no sign of any accounts being compromised, but with 53 days until the 2020 election, it’s troubling that hacks like these are continuing to happen.
Editors' Recommendations
- Are you using one of these passwords? If so, it’s time for a change
- Robinhood reports data breach affecting 7 million customers
- WhatsApp’s online backups are getting end-to-end encryption
- Hackers just stole personal data from millions of Acer customers
- This vaccine passport app data breach is a cautionary tale
