Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Iranians tried to hack U.S. presidential candidates in effort that targeted hundreds, Microsoft says
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/04/iran-tried-hack-us-presidential-candidates-journalists-effort-that-targeted-hundreds-microsoft-finds/
By Jay Greene and Tony Romm
Oct. 4, 2019 at 12:44 p.m. EDT
SEATTLE — A campaign believed to be tied to the Iranian government attempted to identify, attack and breach email addresses belonging to U.S. presidential campaigns, government officials and journalists, according to new data unveiled by Microsoft, highlighting the continued global security threats that loom over the fast-approaching 2020 election.
The campaign observed by Microsoft, which it dubbed Phosphorus, made more than 2,700 attempts to identify e-mail addresses that belonged to the company’s customers over a 30-day period between August and September, 241 of which were then attacked. Four were compromised, but they do not belong to presidential campaigns or government officials, according to the tech giant.
Microsoft said it notified the customers attacked and has worked with those whose accounts were compromised to secure them. It declined to disclose the names of the account holders.
According to Microsoft, Phosphorus hackers tried to figure out how to reset passwords or otherwise trigger account recovery features to take over accounts. In some instances, Microsoft found that the group gathered phone numbers belonging to its targets to try to authenticate password resets.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
</snip>
By Jay Greene and Tony Romm
Oct. 4, 2019 at 12:44 p.m. EDT
SEATTLE — A campaign believed to be tied to the Iranian government attempted to identify, attack and breach email addresses belonging to U.S. presidential campaigns, government officials and journalists, according to new data unveiled by Microsoft, highlighting the continued global security threats that loom over the fast-approaching 2020 election.
The campaign observed by Microsoft, which it dubbed Phosphorus, made more than 2,700 attempts to identify e-mail addresses that belonged to the company’s customers over a 30-day period between August and September, 241 of which were then attacked. Four were compromised, but they do not belong to presidential campaigns or government officials, according to the tech giant.
Microsoft said it notified the customers attacked and has worked with those whose accounts were compromised to secure them. It declined to disclose the names of the account holders.
According to Microsoft, Phosphorus hackers tried to figure out how to reset passwords or otherwise trigger account recovery features to take over accounts. In some instances, Microsoft found that the group gathered phone numbers belonging to its targets to try to authenticate password resets.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
</snip>
And the fucking US govt (Senate & Executive branch) has their thumbs planted firmly up their bums when it comes to election security...
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
