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Claire McCaskill, a vulnerable Democrat running for reelection, targeted in hacking attempt by Russian spies

The following article by Ellen Nakashima was posted on the Washington Post website July 26, 2018:

Sen. McCaskill asks a question during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 20, 2018. McCaskill says Russian hackers tried unsuccessfully to infiltrate her Senate computer network. Credit: Jacquelyn Martin, AP

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, one of the most vulnerable Democrats running for reelection this year, was targeted by Russian government hackers who sought but failed to compromise her Senate computer network.

“Russia continues to engage in cyber warfare against our democracy,” McCaskill said in a press release Thursday evening. “While this attack was not successful, it is outrageous that they think they can get away with this. I will not be intimidated. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is a thug and a bully.”

The hackers, who belong to Russia’s military spy agency GRU, targeted two other candidates running in the midterms, according to a Microsoft executive, Tom Burt, who spoke at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado last week. He did not identify the candidates. None were compromised, he said.

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