Democratic Party Campaign Targeted by Cyber Attack Again

The Democratic Party's campaign committee in the U.S. Congress announced on Friday, August 8, that its computer system was targeted by a cyber attack. This is the second time in the past week that the Democratic Party has faced cyber attacks. Previously, emails from the Democratic National Committee were hacked ahead of the party's convention to confirm Hillary Clinton as the official candidate for the upcoming presidential election, which cybersecurity experts in the U.S. attributed to hackers from the Russian Ministry of Defense. Reuters reports that the Democratic Party's campaign committee stated in a press release that this cyber attack resembles the attack on the National Committee's computer system, but officials immediately took security measures and initiated extensive investigations. This investigation has been entrusted to a cybersecurity specialist company. Reuters added that the new incident has raised concerns among individuals and organizations that provide financial support to the party. The FBI has now opened a new case regarding the second cyber attack and expanded its investigation scope. The Democratic Party's campaign committee statement also mentioned that its officials are closely collaborating with FBI detectives and experts to identify the hackers. It is said that this new cyber attack may be related to previous attacks against the Democratic National Committee, and its potential connection to Russian hackers has not gone unnoticed. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin, once again denied the allegations of Moscow's involvement in stealing information from the Democratic Party's computer system, stating that the absurdity of this claim has reached the level of nonsense and is a clear example of Russia-phobia during the American electoral campaign. He added that Moscow avoids any action or statement that could be perceived as direct or indirect interference in the U.S. election process. However, reactions from some American officials, including the Senator from Missouri in Congress, have been strong and serious regarding the potential involvement of the Russian government. Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill stated at her party's national convention in Philadelphia, "It is clear that the Russian government is trying to interfere in our elections and sincerely favors Donald Trump because Trump's campaign manager has ties to Russia, and Trump himself has shown his interest in Vladimir Putin, and I believe he is trying to play a role in the election process, but it will not work." Alongside the allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. general election campaign, criticism from figures and media in the country regarding Donald Trump's response to the potential Russian cyber attack has also increased. Leon Panetta, former head of the CIA, stated at the Democratic National Convention, "Donald Trump once again sided with Russia and asked the Russians to interfere in American politics. Think about this, someone who wants to be President of the United States is asking one of the country's enemies to be active in hacking our systems or using espionage efforts against America to influence the election results." Mr. Panetta added, "As someone who was responsible for national defense against cyber attacks, it is incomprehensible to me that a presidential candidate could be so irresponsible." Trump's campaign released a statement explaining that his intention was to jab at the Democratic opponent's situation and that if the Russians have obtained Hillary Clinton's missing emails, they should hand them over to the FBI. Reuters, citing Democratic Party sources, reports that the cyber infiltration of the Democratic Party's campaign committee in Congress likely began last month and aimed to obtain information about those who provide financial support to the party. The cyber attack targeted a special site for receiving financial contributions from citizens, abbreviated as "DCCC." The report also mentions that initial investigation details point the finger at the Russian government, and the publication of these reports increases pressure on the Obama administration to formally accuse Moscow. In this context, the head of the Democratic National Committee resigned following WikiLeaks revelations. Obama deemed Russia's attempts to interfere in the U.S. elections as "likely." Trump's request to Russia to find Hillary Clinton's missing emails, WikiLeaks published some hacked voice messages from the Democratic Party, and the Kremlin told the U.S. to find the traces of the email hacking scandal on its own soil. Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination: "We will not build a wall."