[Infowarrior] - Facebook reportedly discovered it had been infiltrated by Russian government hackers months before the election

[Richard Forno]

Facebook reportedly discovered it had been infiltrated by Russian government hackers months before the election

	• Natasha Bertrand
	•  Sep. 24, 2017, 8:47 PM

Members of a hacking group connected to Russia's military intelligence unit, the GRU, began creating fake Facebook accounts to amplify stolen emails as early as June 2016, people familiar with the company's investigation into Russia's use of the platform told The Washington Post.

The Post's report comes weeks after Facebook announced that inauthentic accounts linked to Russia were able to use the platform to spread fake news and purchase $100,000 worth of political ads during the election.  

The accounts linked to the GRU's hacking group, called APT28, or Fancy Bear, reportedly set up an account called DCLeaks and one under the moniker Guccifer 2.0 that helped spread the emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee in late 2015. 

Cybersecurity experts believe Fancy Bear was also behind the DNC hack. 

Facebook contacted the FBI at the time, according to the Post, but determined upon examining the accounts further that they were financially motivated and did not seem linked to a foreign government. 

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http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-russia-election-2017-9