Russian Hackers, Microsoft, and Clinton Omissions
Here’s What You Need to Know
This week, it was revealed that Russian hackers had broken into the Democratic National Committee’s computer network and stolen, among other things, all of their opposition research on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
The incident has left many scratching their heads, wondering why? As Delve’s CEO Jeff Berkowitz outlines in a new Medium post, the answer is simple: why not?
- Everyone Wants the Inside Scoop: It’s no secret that Russia and other foreign governments have a keen interest in the internal workings of American politics, given that it is the domestic political process that produces the next leader of the free world. And, foreign government hacking against U.S. political organizations is nothing new.
- Why not? Couple the DNC’s failure to adequately secure their digital information with that fact that their oppo database on Trump offered Russia a full collection of research and informed analysis on a potential future President of the United States, his businesses, his associates and key advisors, and his policy positions all wrapped up and presented to them with everything but a bow on it, and it becomes clear why the Russians did it.
- Propaganda Ammunition: Opposition research is also the ammunition for any potential public relations attack and with an army of pro-Russian internet trolls at its disposal, the Kremlin could disseminate the DNC’s fodder using their vast online propaganda machine.
For Russian hackers, there was really no downside and considerable upside to stealing the DNC Trump oppo. To put it bluntly, it was simply easier for them to steal a completed dossier than to build their own from scratch. Check out Jeff’s full Medium post here.
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