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Russians behind computer hack of White House

The government confirmed it believes Russian agents were responsible.

By Ed Adamczyk
The hack involved sensitive but not classified data mostly dealing with President Barack Obama's daily schedule. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
The hack involved sensitive but not classified data mostly dealing with President Barack Obama's daily schedule. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, April 8 (UPI) -- Russia was behind a 2014 cyberattack on the White House, officials said, adding no classified information was leaked.

"This report is not referring to a new incident. It is speculating on the attribution of the activity of concern on the unclassified EOP (Executive Office of the President) network that the White House disclosed last year," National Security Council spokesman Mark Stroh said Tuesday in a statement. "Any such activity is something we take very seriously. In this case, as we made clear at the time, we took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity."

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The hack in October, which involved sensitive but not classified data mostly dealing with President Barack Obama's daily schedule, involved first breaking into computers of the State Department, then invading the White House computers, investigators believe. Agents employed by the Russian government are regarded as responsible.

There have been other Russian cyberattacks in recent months, and their volume caught U.S. officials off guard. They prompted a reassessment of cybersecurity, causing Director of National intelligence James Clapper to tell a Senate hearing in February that the "Russian cyberthreat is more severe than we had previously assessed."

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At an FBI cyberconference in January, Clapper said, in reference to a computer action known as "spear phishing, "So many times, the Chinese and others get access to our systems just by pretending to be someone else and then asking for access, and someone gives it to them."

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