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Hackers reportedly target Dem cellphones

September 28, 2016

Federal law enforcement officials are investigating the possibility that foreign hackers targeted mobile phones held by Democratic party officials.

The attack against a "small number" of officials took place within the last one or two months, sources told Reuters. The sources reportedly had reason to believe that, like attacks on the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the perpetrators were connected to the Russian government.

The FBI is reportedly seeking to "image" the devices, or duplicate their contents.

Tech experts and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., pointed out last spring that foreign intelligence services have the ability to penetrate any mobile device for which they hold a number, using a flaw in a global telecommunications network known as Signaling System No. 7.

A hacker over the summer additionally published cellphone numbers online for nearly 200 past or present Democratic members of Congress, significantly lowering the threshold perpetrators would need to cross in order to pull off an attack.