US Spy Chief Sees ‘Indications’ of Cyber Attacks on Presidential Hopefuls

The US intelligence and law enforcement community has already seen heightened malicious cyber activities targeting the 2016 presidential candidates, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said at the Bipartisan Policy Center on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Clapper added that intelligence and law enforcement "anticipate that as the campaigns intensify, we will probably have more of them [attacks]."

"We have already had some indications of that," Clapper stated when asked if there had been attacks on website of the US presidential candidates.

During the 2012 presidential election, both candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were subjected to numerous foreign and domestic attacks on their campaign websites. Hackers breached the networks to steal political strategies and donors’ credit card information, as well as to conduct denial of service attacks.

Clapper explained that the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation are both "doing what they can to educate both campaigns" to defend against potential cyber threats.

The hacktivist group Anonymous has already claimed responsibility for attacking the website of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump multiple times since he entered the race for president.