Secret Service Investigates Alleged Hack That May Have Compromised First Lady's Passport
The hacking group DC Leaks posted the information on its Twitter account.
— -- The Secret Service said today that it is “aware” of the “alleged email hacking of a White House employee” that may have compromised the private passport information of First Lady Michelle Obama along with the communications of several White House staffers.
The hacking group DC Leaks posted on its Twitter account this morning what appears to be a scanned copy of the first lady’s passport, along with several White House staffers’ private communications.
The Secret Service would not confirm the authenticity of the photo or communications.
However, asked about the tweets in question, Secret Service spokeswoman Nicole Mainor said in a statement to ABC News, “obviously the Secret Service is concerned any time unauthorized information that might pertain to one of the individuals we protect, or our operations, is allegedly disclosed.”
“As a matter of policy, we do not provide information regarding investigations,” Mainor said.
DC Leaks is the group also reportedly behind the hacking of former Secretary of State Colin Powell's email account. The private cyber-security firm ThreatConnect has reported its suspicion that DCLeaks is a Russian-backed operation, linked to the notorious hacker Guccifer 2.0, who is suspected to be behind the massive hack into the Democratic National Committee.
The White House said administration officials are taking a look at the information that has been disclosed and takes any reports about a cyber-breach "seriously," but could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the released information.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.