Russia-based hackers tried to break into Hillary Clinton's computer on 5 occasions

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 1 October 2015

If the latest dump of Hillary Clinton's emails from her tenure as secretary of state is any indication, concerns about the risks posed by her use of a private email server are not without basis. While the BBC reports that a Clinton spokesman underscored that "there was no evidence of a breach" in security, hackers overseas made at least five attempts to gain access to Clinton's email.

The five break-in attempts, disguised as New York City parking tickets, included a fake New York police address, instructions to "print out the enclosed ticket," and an attached zip file, The Guardian reports. That zip file contained "malicious software" that would have given hackers control of Clinton's computer in order to "tramsmit information from victims to at least three server computers overseas, including one in Russia," The Associated Press reports. There is no evidence that the attempted hacks involved Russian intelligence.

Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill underscored the fact there isn't any evidence that Clinton opened or answered these emails, the BBC reports. "All these emails show is that, like millions of other Americans, she received spam," Merrill said.