Washington (CNN) Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill said Thursday that Russians unsuccessfully attempted to hack her Senate computer network.

McCaskill's acknowledgment was in response to a report from The Daily Beast that there was a phishing attempt against her office last year mirroring the tactics used successfully against John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman in the 2016 presidential election. The US intelligence community has accused Russia of perpetrating the hack against Podesta and others in an effort to sway the election in favor of President Donald Trump.

"While this attack was not successful, it is outrageous that they think they can get away with this," McCaskill said in a statement. "I will not be intimidated. I've said it before and I will say it again, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is a thug and a bully."

Thursday's report said hackers sent forged emails to targets in the Senate with malicious links as part of an effort that Microsoft picked up. It said there was nothing to suggest the hacking attempt was successful.

CNN has rated the Missouri Senate contest a "toss-up," as the Democratic senator seeks re-election in a state that went for Trump in 2016.

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