The National Republican Congressional Committee said
Tuesday it suffered a major hacking attack during the 2018 election.
“The NRCC can confirm that it was the victim of a cyber
intrusion by an unknown entity,” NRCC spokesman Ian Prior told Fox News. “The
cybersecurity of the committee’s data is paramount, and upon learning of the
intrusion, the NRCC immediately launched an internal investigation and notified
the FBI, which is now investigating the matter.”
Prior added: “To protect the integrity of that investigation,
the NRCC will offer no further comment on the incident.”
The NRCC is the committee dedicated to electing House
Republicans across the country. The GOP ended up losing 40 seats in November's
elections, as well as its majority.
Politico
first reported that the NRCC suffered the cyber intrusion during the
midterms.
The outlet cited sources in saying the emails of four
senior aides were surveilled for months. Politico reported that GOP
officials believe the attack was from a foreign agent.
Politico reported that the Republican leadership,
including House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and
Majority Whip Steve Scalise had not been informed of the attack until the
outlet began reporting its story.
According to the outlet, the hacking was first discovered
by a managed security services provider that monitors the committee’s network.
It comes after the high-profile hack of Democratic
campaign committees and other prominent Democrats aligned with Hillary Clinton
during the 2016 presidential election. Unlike in those instances, Republicans
told Politico they don’t believe any of the information hacked from GOP emails
were made public.
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