Mark Hosenball

The FBI is investigating a cyberattack against another US Democratic Party group, which may be related to an earlier hack against the Democratic National Committee, apparently. The previously unreported incident at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or DCCC, and its potential ties to Russian hackers are likely to heighten accusations, so far unproven, that Moscow is trying to meddle in the US presidential election campaign to help Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The Kremlin denied involvement in the DCCC cyber-attack. Hacking of the party's e-mails caused discord among Democrats at the party's convention in Philadelphia (PA) to nominate Hillary Clinton as its presidential candidate. The newly disclosed breach at the DCCC may have been intended to gather information about donors, rather than to steal money, apparently. It was not clear what data was exposed, although donors typically submit a variety of personal information including names, e-mail addresses and credit card details when making a contribution. It was also unclear if stolen information was used to hack into other systems. The DCCC raises money for Democrats running for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The intrusion at the group could have begun as recently as June.

President Barack Obama's plan for overhauling the National Security Agency's phone surveillance program could force carriers to collect and store customer data that they are not now legally obliged to keep, according to US officials.

One complication arises from the popularity of flat-rate or unlimited calling plans, which are used by the vast majority of Americans. While the Federal Communications Commission requires phone companies to retain for 18 months records on "toll" or long-distance calls, the rule's application is vague for subscribers of unlimited phone plans because they do not get billed for individual calls. That could change if the Obama Administration pushes through with a proposal to require carriers -- instead of the NSA -- to collect and store phone metadata, which includes dialed numbers and call lengths but not the content of conversations.

Under the Administration's proposal, the phone companies would be required to turn over the data to the NSA in response to a court-approved government request. US officials said the carriers might be forced to create new mechanisms to ensure that metadata from flat-rate subscribers could be monitored. They said these issues will require further discussion between the White House, Congress and industry.