Russia-Backed DNC Hackers Strike Washington Think Tanks

The same Kremlin-backed group that hacked the Pentagon, State Department, and Democratic National Committee targeted DC insiders the week of August 22. One of the Russia-backed hacker groups that attacked Democratic computer networks also attacked several Russia-focused think tanks in Washington (DC).

The perpetrator is the group called COZY BEAR, or APT29, one of the two groups that cybersecurity company CrowdStrike blamed for the DNC hack, according to founder Dmitri Alperovitch. CrowdStrike discovered the attack on the DNC and provides security for the think tanks. Alperovitch said fewer than five organizations and 10 staffers researching Russia were hit by the “highly targeted operation.” He declined to detail which think tanks and researchers were hit, out of concern for his clients’ interests and to avoid revealing tools and techniques or other data to hackers. CrowdStrike alerted the organizations immediately after the company detected the breaches and intruders were unable to exfiltrate any information, Alperovitch said.