House GOP Campaign Arm Says It Was Hacked During The 2018 Election Cycle

The hacking was first detected in April, but top GOP officials, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, weren't notified about the attack until Monday, when reporters began asking questions.

By Jessica Taylor

December 04, 2018

Updated at 1:35 p.m. ET

House Republicans' campaign operation suffered a cyberattack during the 2018 midterm election cycle, it said Tuesday.

A spokesman working on behalf of the National Republican Congressional Committee acknowledged the compromise and said it was reported to authorities.

"The cybersecurity of the committee's data is paramount, and upon learning of the intrusion, the NRCC immediately launched an internal investigation and notified the FBI, which is now investigating the matter," said Ian Prior, a vice president of Mercury Public Affairs, which has been retained by the NRCC on the matter.

Prior wouldn't say anything more in order to protect the ongoing investigation.

The FBI told NPR on Tuesday that it generally does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations.

The news of the major intrusion was first reported by Politico, which found that the email accounts of four senior NRCC aides were "surveilled for several months" and exposed "thousands of sensitive emails to an outside intruder."

"Party officials would not say when the hack began or who was behind it, although they privately believe it was a foreign agent due to the nature of the attack," the Politico report said.

The hacking was first detected in April, but top GOP officials, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., weren't notified about the attack until Monday, when Politico reporters began asking questions about the compromise.

It wasn't immediately clear who might be responsible for the cyberattack, but news followed months of increased preparations by the government to defend against foreign influence in America's democracy.

Defense, law enforcement and intelligence officials say they've stepped up their efforts since Russia attacked the 2016 presidential election.

Still, the threat from Russian and other foreign interference continued, officials say, including through the midterms.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Saturday at a defense forum in California that election interference has further soured a poor situation between Washington and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"There's no doubt the relationship has worsened," Mattis said. "He tried again to muck around in our elections just last month, and we are seeing a continued effort along those lines."