Cyber Espionage Against US Political Organizations.
Russia’s intelligence services conducted cyber operations against targets
associated with the 2016 US presidential election, including targets associated with both major US political parties. We assess Russian intelligence services collected against the US primary campaigns, think tanks, and lobbying groups they viewed as likely to shape future US policies.
In July 2015, Russian intelligence gained access to Democratic National Committee (DNC)networks and maintained that access until at least June 2016.
The General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU)probably began cyber operations aimed at the US election by March 2016. We assess that the GRU operations resulted in the compromise of the personal e-mail accounts of Democratic Party officials and political figures. By May, the GRU had exfiltrated large volumes of data from the DNC.