US presidential campaigns targeted by hackers: Clapper

Hacking attacks targeting US presidential campaigns and their related organizations have surged, says US National Intelligence Director James Clapper.

“As the campaign intensifies we’ll probably have more” attacks, the spymaster said at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington on Wednesday, adding “we’ll probably have more.”

Clapper's spokesman, Brian Hale, echoed his remarks, saying the hackers have a range of motives for the attacks.

“We’re aware that campaigns and related organizations and individuals are targeted by actors with a variety of motivations— from philosophical differences to espionage - and capabilities— from defacements to intrusions,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Hale, however, refused to provide any details on the possible attacks, deferring to the FBI for more specifics.

The international hacking group known as Anonymous recently declared “total war” on Trump and urged their supporters to take down the real estate mogul’s website and expose his private information.

Trump and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton have accused China of conducting the attacks.

V. Newton Miller, chief executive officer of the Milwaukee-based PKWARE, a security software company, said spying on campaign sites was one of the major motives for the attacks.

“If they shut down a candidate's website, I mean OK. So what? It impacts fundraising for 24 to 48 hours,” Miller said. “It's the sensitive information that's the driver on this one.”

“These campaigns are not working on encrypted platforms,” the expert. “It's a matter of when and how serious of an impact it is going to have on this election.”

The spike in attacks is not unprecedented as the last two US presidential cycles in 2008 and 2012 also witnessed a battery of cyber attacks targeting then Democratic nominee Barack Obama and his Republican rivals.

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