BIG PROBLEM

Wyden: Senate Staffers’ Personal Accounts Targeted by Foreign Government Hackers

“[T]he Fancy Bear attacks may be the tip of a much larger iceberg,” Sen. Ron Wyden wrote to Senate leadership.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to Senate leaders Wednesday claiming his office has discovered that “at least one major technology company” has warned a number of senators and their staff that their personal email accounts have been “targeted by foreign government hackers,” the Associated Press reports. “[T]he Fancy Bear attacks may be the tip of a much larger iceberg,” Wyden wrote, addressing the Russian hacking group that was found to have hacked into the personal email accounts of congressional aides between 2015 and 2016. Wyden also pushed the Senate leaders to permit the U.S. Sergeant at Arms to provide cybersecurity assistance to senators and staff in order to “keep up with changing world realities.” He also suggested a “poll” be taken among senators and their staff to see how many have been potentially infiltrated by foreign hackers. “The November election grows ever closer, Russia continues its attacks on our democracy, and the Senate simply does not have the luxury of further delays,” Wyden wrote.