FBI Investigating Possible Russian Cyber Attacks Against New York Times, Other Media: Reports

The New York Times and other U.S. news organizations are believed to have been the targets of attempted cyber attacks by Russian hackers, according to multiple reports Tuesday.

CNN, which broke the story and cited "U.S. officials briefed on the matter," did not name the other news outlets that may have been targeted, and the news network said the FBI is investigating the hacking attempts.

CNN's report added, "Investigators so far believe that Russian intelligence is likely behind the attacks and that Russian hackers are targeting news organizations as part of a broader series of hacks that also have focused on Democratic Party organizations, the officials said."

A New York Times spokeswoman did not return a Patch request for confirmation and comment.

New York Times Co. spokeswoman Eileen Murphy told CNN: "Like most news organizations we are vigilant about guarding against attempts to hack into our systems. There are a variety of approaches we take up to and including working with outside investigators and law enforcement. We won't comment on any specific attempt to gain unauthorized access to The Times."

Read the full CNN report here.

The reported hacking comes as serious questions has been raised about possible Russian influence in this year's U.S. presidential elections.

Russian hackers in June breached the Democratic National Committee, making public some of the party's opposition research on Donald Trump. In July, hackers released a trove of DNC emails just before the party's convention that led to the resignation of then-party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Later that month, Trump seemed to encourage Russian hackers to cyber attack U.S. State Department information to bring down his rival, Hillary Clinton. He later clarified that he was just being sarcastic.

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