Foreign Hackers May Be Using the Internet to Spy on Presidential Campaigns

In an appearance at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington on Wednesday, James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said that foreign hackers may be spying on the presidential candidates, according to the Associated Press.

“We’ve already had some indications of that,” Clapper said. And: “As the campaigns intensify, we’ll probably have more.” Both the FBI and Homeland Security “are doing what they can do educate both campaigns against potential cyber threats,” he said.

The same thing happened during the 2008 presidential election, which President Obama addressed in remarks on the nation’s cyber infrastructure a year later. In 2012, both Obama and Mitt Romney were targeted by Chinese cyberattacks.

Politico reports that Clapper did not offer any information about who was actually behind this year’s burgeoning attack. “The Russians and Chinese are far more sophisticated and could do real damage if so inclined. Then there are terrorist groups,” he continued, speaking of cyberattacks more broadly.

“Each has different objectives. The one thing they have in common—they all operate on the same internet.” Damn.