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Foreign hackers reportedly spying on US presidential candidates

The Director of National Intelligence says hackers working for foreign governments might be spying on presidential hopefuls.

Megan Wollerton Former Senior Writer/Editor
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US intelligence officials have seen evidence that foreign hackers are spying on the 2016 U.S. presidential candidates, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Enlisting hackers to work for foreign governments isn't entirely new. Both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections dealt with similar activity. The US Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, says officials from Homeland Security and the FBI are working to improve campaign security, but the AP cited experts saying the Trump and Clinton campaigns are particularly vulnerable.

"I would lose respect for scores of intelligence organizations around the planet if they were not already thumbing through [Clinton's] emails," retired Gen. Michael Hayden, a former head of the NSA, said in March, according to the Washington Examiner.