MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2018) A spokesperson for US technological giant Google has confirmed that the personal Gmail accounts of an unknown number of US senators and Senate employees were targeted by foreign government-sponsored hackers, media reported.
On Wednesday, US Sen. Ron Wyden said in a letter to Senate leadership, citing "one major technology company," that the personal email accounts of a number of senators and Senate employees "were targeted by foreign government hackers," according to the CNN broadcaster.
The spokesperson confirmed to the broadcaster that Google was the source to which Wyden was referring but refused to name the targeted lawmakers.
However, according to a Senate aide, both Republicans and Democrats were hacked, the broadcaster said.
Wyden, in particular, expressed concern that the Senate's security service lacked the authority to protect personal data from cyberattacks and proposed introducing legislation on the matter.
This issue issue garnered a lot of media attention after it was revealed that then Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton used an unsecured email server while serving as secretary of state in 2009-2013. The issue generated considerable controversy during her 2016 presidential campaign. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, were among the several Democratic groups and individuals targeted in a hacking campaign that US intelligence and political leaders have blamed on Russia.
