Democratic Intelligence Committee Senator Says He's Been Targeted By Hackers

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Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that he and his children had been targeted by hackers.

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When asked if he was freaked out by hackers attacking Democratic Senators, Heinrich said, “People should know this happens all the time. I’ve been targeted. My kids emails have been targeted…You can’t be shocked. Anyone who sits on any of the intelligence committees, any of the armed services committees, and I serve on both, have to assume they are a target.”

When he was asked if he feels that his government is doing enough to protect him, Sen. Heinrich said, “I think I have a number of tools that we deploy on a regular basis to make sure that we do the best we can. We also have to recognize that the Russians are really serious about this. Not just about hacking but the thing that worries me, even more, is what we have learned as a committee about their ongoing efforts in information warfare. To divide this country and be engaging the United States on all sorts of platforms from Pokemon Go to Facebook.”

Sen. Heinrich was matter of fact about the hacking attempts against him, but the reality is that three Democratic US Senators have had attacks waged against them. Heinrich couldn’t be sure that it was the Russians, but what he described matches the M.O. of Russia. The US has a problem that goes beyond election security. Hostile foreign governments are trying to hack officials with intelligence information.

While this practice may not be new, when taken in total with the ongoing issues of election security, it is a part of a crisis that needs to be addressed, and if Republicans won’t do it, it is up to the American people to elect a Democratic Congress that will protect their country.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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