US Liberal Groups Paying Hush Ransoms to Russian Hackers

Russian hackers are targeting U.S. progressive groups, scouring their emails for embarrassing details and trying to extract hush money from them, reported Bloomberg. Some reportedly have already paid ransoms.

At least a dozen groups have faced extortion attempts since the U.S. presidential election, according to two people familiar with probes being conducted by the FBI and private security firms. They provided broad outlines of the campaign.

The ransom demands are accompanied by samples of sensitive data in the hackers’ possession.

In one case, a non-profit group and a prominent liberal donor discussed how to use grant money to cover some costs for anti-Trump protesters. The identities were not disclosed, and it’s unclear if the protesters were paid.

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