Microsoft has detected and taken down six fake websites related to political policy and the U.S. Senate created by the Russian hacking group APT28 to steal visitors’ information, according to a Tuesday Washington Post report.
The group, which is linked to Russian government intelligence agencies and which hacked during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was reportedly still in the process of setting up the sites when Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit detected the malicious activity.
The attempt reveals Russia’s intent to again infiltrate the American political system in advance of the 2018 midterm elections.
The fake websites would have employed the same “spear-phishing” tactics used to steal Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails during the 2016 campaign.
