Hillary Clinton’s private email server was subjected to at least five hacking attempts by individuals linked to Russia, the Associated Press reported.
Clinton received email viruses disguised as fake traffic tickets, the AP discovered from a trove of emails released by the State Department on Wednesday. Had Clinton opened the emails’ attachments, her computer would have transmitted information to servers based overseas, including one in Russia.
AP reporter Bradley Klapper said Friday that the attempted hacks were a danger to Clinton’s emails and the classified information they contained.
"Clearly, the danger was present. Clearly, hackers knew enough to target her email address, which was not public," Klapper said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
The phishing attempts uncovered by the AP were not sophisticated, raising doubts that the attacks were initiated by a foreign intelligence service. The emails included misspellings, and their central deceit—that the recipient had outstanding traffic tickets—was unlikely to fool Clinton, who has not driven a car in nearly 20 years.
However, Clinton has made clear her discomfort and lack of knowledge about technology, increasing the likelihood that she could have fallen victim to a hack. Clinton, 67, falls into the demographic most susceptible to email-based hacking and fraud, according to a study by the American Association of Retired Persons.
The attempted hacks refute the claim by Clinton that there was "no evidence" of attempts to compromise her server.
The Clinton camp now says that there is no smoking gun evidence that the hacking attempts were successful.
"All these emails show is that, like millions of other Americans, she received spam," spokesman Nick Merrill said.
Clinton has tried for months to get past questions about her email arrangement, but her attempts have been thwarted by an FBI investigation and revelations of the kind published by the AP on Wednesday.
Klapper said that scrutiny of Clinton’s email is important and will continue.
"Surely, it is important. It shows she was routinely receiving or even sending in some cases information that should not be in the public domain," Klapper said.