Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House

The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, according to officials briefed on the matter. Intelligence agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, according to U.S. officials. Those officials described the individuals as actors known to the intelligence community and part of a wider Russian operation...

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7.3-magnitude earthquake strikes off Japan

A tsunami warning is in effect for Japan's Fukushima Prefecture after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Honshu at 5:59 a.m. Tuesday (3:59 p.m. Monday ET), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. A tsunami wave of 1-3 meters (3-10 feet) is possible, according to the agency. The US Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.9, striking 37 kilometers (23 miles) east-southeast of Namie off the country's east coast at a depth of 11.4 kilometers (7 miles). Two aftershocks were reported by USGS, one 5.4 and one 4.8. Several tsunami waves have been spotted off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, CNN affiliate NHK reported. One was spotted...

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How smart home devices are being hijacked to attack Internet

The huge cyberattack that crippled the Internet and disabled dozens of websites Friday appeared to be the biggest attack of its kind that the world has ever seen. But it may not hold that title for for long. What made last week’s Internet takedown so effective — and, some would say, sinister — was how the attackers weaponized everyday devices like security cameras, digital video recorders and baby monitors. By exploiting the devices’ Web connections, hackers could infect them with malicious software and use them to paralyze huge portions of the Internet with a barrage of junk data in what is known as a distributed denial of service, or...

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Hackers Used New Weapons to Disrupt Major Websites Across U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO — Major websites were inaccessible to people across wide swaths of the United States on Friday after a company that manages crucial parts of the internet’s infrastructure said it was under attack. Users reported sporadic problems reaching several websites, including Twitter, Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb, Reddit, Etsy, SoundCloud and The New York Times. The company, Dyn, whose servers monitor and reroute internet traffic, said it began experiencing what security experts called a distributed denial-of-service attack just after 7 a.m. Reports that many sites were inaccessible started on the East Coast, but spread westward in three...

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Russia no longer denies hacking DNC

WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation suspects Russian intelligence agencies are behind the recent hacking of the emails of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman and of a contractor handling Florida voter data, according to people briefed on the investigations. Top Russian officials on Wednesday, meanwhile, shifted away from denying a role in a separate hack of the Democratic National Committee. President Vladimir Putin said it is irrelevant who stole the computer records, and the foreign minister said that the U.S. hasn’t proven anything so far. The comments, made in separate public appearances, reflect an ambivalence among top...

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U.S. government officially accuses Russia of hacking campaign to interfere with elections

The Obama administration on Friday officially accused Russia of attempting to interfere in the 2016 elections, including by hacking the computers of the Democratic National Committee and other political organizations. The denunciation, made by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security, came as pressure was growing from within the administration and some lawmakers to publicly name Moscow and hold it accountable for actions apparently aimed at sowing discord around the election. “The U.S. Intelligence Community is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails...

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FBI Suspects Russia Hacked DNC; U.S. Officials Say It Was to Elect Donald Trump

Did the Russian government hack the DNC to bring down Hillary Clinton? That’s the view that’s quickly emerging inside American intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The FBI suspects that Russian government hackers breached the networks of the Democratic National Committee and stole emails that were posted to the anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks on Friday. It’s an operation that several U.S. officials now suspect was a deliberate attempt to influence the presidential election in favor of Donald Trump, according to five individuals familiar with the investigation of the breach. The theory that Moscow orchestrated the leaks to help Trump, who...

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Russia 'DELIBERATELY bombed secret military base in Syria used by elite American and British forces

Hours after the attack, the Daily Beast says that the US Central Command - which overseas American combat in the Middle East - spoke directly to the pilots. Officials from Washington and Moscow also spoke over a hotline set up to avoid similar confrontations, reports suggest.  There was also a similar attack on a CIA-linked site on July 12 that was previously unreported. But the attack pushed both the US and UK into a compromise with Russia.The U.S. and Russia agreed to a pact last week to target airstrikes against the Al Qaeda affiliate in the region – Nusra Front.They reportedly went ahead with the plan despite objections from the...

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