The suspected Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee is part of a broader cyber campaign against the U.S. — which may include efforts to elect Donald Trump.
The FBI is investigating the DNC hack, which resulted in the ouster of party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and raised tensions among Democrats heading into this week’s convention.
This comes as concerns have been raised about Trump and his campaign’s friendly relationship with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, and Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager has suggested that the Republican platform was changed to “make it more pro-Russian.”
One reporter who has written extensively about Russia’s cyber warfare efforts has warned for months that the former Soviet Union appears to be actively invested in getting Trump elected to weaken the U.S.
Adrian Chen reported in June 2015 in the New York Times Magazine about Russia’s “troll factory,” where online commenters spread disinformation and pro-Kremlin propaganda on social media and other websites.
Those efforts range from anti-American or pro-Russian comments left on news sites to sophisticated hoaxes — such as phony reports, including bogus videos and photos, about a Sept. 11, 2015, terrorist attack on a Louisiana chemical plant.
“One thing that the Russian propaganda always focuses on are any kind of unrest or social problems or disasters in the United States to prove, you know, that the United States isn’t all that, that we have our own problems and why are we lecturing Russia?”Chen told NPR. “Why are we sanctioning Russia? And I can only assume that maybe this is an attempt to take that strategy further, not just report on this, but actually manufacture this.”