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Is Russia trying to hack the French election

Posted in World

Published on April 28, 2017 with No Comments

Russian hackers — potentially the same ones who interfered in the US election — are now targeting French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron’s campaign, reported media from England citing a new report from Tokyo based cybersecurity firm Trend Micro.

The report highlights that a Russian intelligence unit targeted the Macron campaign in March and April using schemes like sending emails designed to bait mid-level campaign managers into handing over their passwords. Trend Micro believes that it’s the very same Russian group, known by a number of names including “Pawn Storm” and “Fancy Bear,” that stole emails from the Democratic National Committee in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential election.

“There are several things which suggest that the group behind the Macron hacking was also responsible for the DNC breach, for example. We found similarities in the IP addresses and malware used in the attacks,” Rik Ferguson, vice president of Trend Micro’s security research program told a leading TV channel.

As per reports,  the French government’s cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, has confirmed the cyberattacks against Macron, but has not yet definitively attributed it to Fancy Bear. The government believes it’s possible that “other high-level” hackers could be mimicking the group’s style and allowing it to take the blame for the attacks.

While it’s too early to attribute attacks on Macron’s campaign to Russian hackers, it’s clear that the attacks converge with Russian interests. If Macron were to face damaging leaks the way Hillary Clinton did during the campaign, it would hurt the chances of a candidate who supports the EU and France’s traditional stance toward Russia. Hurting Macron would simultaneously provide a boost to the candidate who wants to withdraw from Europe altogether and warm relations with Moscow: Marine Le Pen.

 

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