Macron hackers linked to Russian-affiliated group behind US attack
The hackers behind a massive and coordinated attack on the campaign of Frances president-elect, Emmanuel Macron, have been linked by a number of cybersecurity research firms to the Russian-affiliated group blamed for attacking the Democratic party shortly before the US election.
Tens of thousands of internal emails and other documents were released online overnight on Friday as the midnight deadline to halt campaigning in the French election passed. According to the head of Macrons digital team, Mounir Mahjoubi, five entire mailboxes were stolen, with many of the accounts being personal Gmail mailboxes.
New Yorks Flashpoint and Tokyo-based Trend Micro have shared intelligence that suggests that the hacking group known variously as Advanced Persistent Threat 28, Fancy Bear and Pawn Storm was responsible. The group has been linked with the GRU, the Russian military intelligence directorate.
Macron, an independent centrist, won Sundays runoff election against the far-right Marine Le Pen by a 66% to 34% margin. A congratulatory statement from the Kremlin, which had been widely seen as backing Le Pen, urged Macron to work with Russia to overcome mutual mistrust and unite to ensure international stability and security.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/08/macron-hackers-linked-to-russian-affiliated-group-behind-us-attack