Russian Hackers Target U.S. News Outlets in Cyber Breach

Hackers thought to be working for Russian intelligence have carried out a series of cyber breaches targeting reporters at the New York Times and other U.S. news organizations, according to CNN.

In the recent months, the intrusions have been investigated by the GBI and other U.S. security agencies. Investigators believe that Russian intelligence is behind the attacks and that they are related to the attacks on the Democratic Party Organizers.

U.S. officials believe the Russian intrusions are a part of a “wave of cyber attacks” that are focused on gathering information from a broad array of non-governmental organizations within windows into the U.S. political system.

News organizations are considered to be a top target because they yield valuable resources, such as reporter contacts in the government, as well as communications and unpublished works with sensitive information.

The Times has brought in a private sector security that is working with U.S. national security to assess the damage and determine how the hackers got in.

"Like most news organizations we are vigilant about guarding against attempts to hack into our systems," New York Times Co. spokeswoman Eileen Murphy told CNN. "There are a variety of approaches we take up to and including working with outside investigators and law enforcement. We won't comment on any specific attempt to gain unauthorized access to The Times."