Report: Russian Hackers Want Hush Money From Progressive Groups Who Are Paying For Anti-Trump Protests

Bloomberg: Russian Hackers Said to Seek Hush Money From Liberal Groups

* Post-election crime wave by attackers demanding bitcoins
* Center for American Progress said to be among victims

Russian hackers are targeting U.S. progressive groups in a new wave of attacks, scouring the organizations’ emails for embarrassing details and attempting to extract hush money, according to two people familiar with probes being conducted by the FBI and private security firms.

At least a dozen groups have faced extortion attempts since the U.S. presidential election, said the people, who 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.

At least some groups have paid the ransoms even though there is little guarantee the documents won’t be made public anyway. Demands have ranged from about $30,000 to $150,000, payable in untraceable bitcoins, according to one of the people familiar with the probe.

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Update: Russian hackers targeting liberal groups: report (The Hill)

WNU Editor: If this report is true .... those emails must be incredibly explosive.