NRCC breach exposes gaps 2 years after Russia hacks

Democrats are seizing on recent revelations that the House GOP’s campaign arm was hacked earlier this year to spotlight that both parties are vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The FBI is investigating a cyber breach at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) that felt like déjà vu to many in Washington — hackers targeting political campaign groups. This time, however, the perpetrators aimed their digital tools at the GOP instead of Democrats.

“It creates more of a sense of how critical it is that we protect our infrastructure,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) told The Hill this week. “The federal government has certainly had plenty of hacks of their own, so we can't say with any certainty, ‘Do this like we do it you won't have a problem,’ because we've had plenty of problems.”


Four top aides at the NRCC — which was notified in April about the breach — learned that their emails had been surveilled for months, according to Politico, which first reported the intrusion.

Ian Prior, a public relations professional hired by the NRCC to oversee its response to the breach, confirmed the cyber intrusion.

“The NRCC can confirm that it was the victim of a cyber intrusion by an unknown entity,” said Prior, a former Justice Department official, in an email to The Hill. “The cybersecurity of the Committee’s data is paramount, and upon learning of the intrusion, the NRCC immediately launched an internal investigation and notified the FBI, which is now investigating the matter.”

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/420368-nrcc-breach-exposes-vulnerabilities-2-years-after-russia-hacks?userid=229233