Microsoft recently alerted one of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s main election campaign advisory firms it had been targeted by suspected Russian state-backed hackers, according to three people briefed on the matter.
Hacking attempts targeted Washington-based SKDKnickerbocker, a campaign strategy and communications firm working with Biden and other prominent Democrats, over the past two months, the sources said.
The hackers failed to gain access to the firm’s networks. “They are well-defended, so there has been no breach,” a source said.
U.S. intelligence agencies have raised alarms about possible efforts by foreign governments to interfere in the November presidential election.
One of the sources said it was not clear whether Biden’s campaign was the target or whether the hackers were attempting to gain access to information about other SKDK clients.
SKDK managing director Anita Dunn was a White House communications director during the Barack Obama presidency and serves the Biden campaign as a senior advisor.
The attempts to infiltrate SKDK were recently flagged to the campaign firm by Microsoft, which identified hackers tied to the Russian government as the likely culprits, according to the three sources briefed on the matter.
