Crime

Tipster Claims to Have Hacked Into Mitt Romney’s Private Email Account

WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities are investigating whether Mitt Romney’s private email account was hacked, his presidential campaign said Tuesday.

Tipster Claims to Have Hacked Into Mitt Romneys Private Email Account

Image: Gawker

The website Gawker reported Tuesday that an anonymous hacker had signed into Romney’s personal Hotmail account. Gawker reported that the hacker guessed the answer to a security question about Romney’s favorite pet in order to gain access to the account and change the password. The anonymous hacker told the website that Romney’s account on DropBox, a file sharing service, also was compromised.

Romney’s campaign said that “proper authorities are investigating this crime.” Campaign spokeswoman Gail Gitcho refused to comment further and would not say who was investigating. She also would not say whether Romney still uses the Hotmail account.

Romney isn’t the first politician to face security problems with a private email account. Just weeks before the 2008 presidential election, a Tennessee college student accessed the private emails of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. The student, David Kernell, was convicted in April 2010 after Palin and her daughter Bristol testified about harassment and disruption they suffered. Kernell had correctly guessed answers to security questions guarding Palin’s account, giving him access.

Romney’s private Hotmail account was accepting email as recently as March 2012. As of Tuesday evening, the address was returning emails as undeliverable, citing an “unknown address.”

Romney’s private email address, mittromney(at)hotmail.com, was included in documents obtained and published earlier this year by The Associated Press. It was also included in documents attached to a Tuesday Wall Street Journal story. The address became public because Romney used it to conduct state business when he served as governor of Massachusetts, and some of his private emails were obtained under the Massachusetts Public Records Law.

Romney has used both a Hotmail account and an email account linked to his mittromney.com presidential campaign website. In August 2006, Romney told a group of recipients that all future emails were to be directed to the mittromney.com campaign account.

Romney wrote that, effective immediately, the new account would be his new email address. “Please keep it confidential as its use is for family and close friends,” he wrote. “I will no longer be using my Hotmail account.”

One month later, Romney again used the Hotmail address to email revisions of an editorial he was writing.

In March, the AP sent emails to each of Romney’s private accounts. Both appeared to be operative at that time, but he did not reply. A Microsoft spokeswoman said Hotmail accounts are closed after 270 days of inactivity and incoming emails sent afterward are rejected as undeliverable. Neither of Romney’s accounts bounced messages back to the AP in March.

An email sent to his private Hotmail account Tuesday bounced back as undeliverable.

Comments (38)

  • garbagecanlogic
    Posted on June 6, 2012 at 4:52pm

    And the point is?
    All that I can see is that someone must be sitting around in his bvd‘s in his mommy’s basement with nothing constructive to do because he won’t go out and look for a job.

    Praise Be To Obama. Psalm 109:8

    The U.S. Out Of The U.N.
    The U.N. Out Of The U.S.

    Report Post »  
    • Machtyn
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:11am

      Even if he was looking for a job, the economy only had 69,000 jobs available. He likely would not have been chosen.

      Report Post »  
  • THX-1138
    Posted on June 6, 2012 at 1:04pm

    They’ll catch him. Shortly after Jan 21, 2013…

    Report Post » THX-1138  
  • Kenszen
    Posted on June 6, 2012 at 12:46pm

    And once again, no dirt was found on Mitt otherwise the hacker would have sold it to the highest bidding MSMer by now and we would have heard about it.

    Report Post »  
    • justangry
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 1:38pm

      The dirt on him and everyone else in Washington is out in the open. Just the media only points out someone who shouldn’t be sodomized the TSA every once in a while. Everything else they’ve done is swept under the rug. No big deal that Romney agrees on detaining Americans without due process, or whatever.

      Report Post » justangry  
  • ColoradoMaverick
    Posted on June 6, 2012 at 6:44am

    Didn’t some liberal jerk do that to Sara Palin? Didn’t he end up in jail? Let’s get him!

    Report Post » ColoradoMaverick  
  • Unalienable Rights
    Posted on June 6, 2012 at 12:41am

    This should be a lesson to everyone:
    1. Never use the same password for multiple websites or services.
    2. Use random passwords
    3. Answer security questions with random answers.
    4. Use double authentication if it is available.
    5. Use LastPass with double authentication.

    Report Post » Unalienable Rights  
    • Chet Hempstead
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 3:29am

      Then write all of your random passwords and question answers on a piece of paper because it is impossible to remember them all. And then somebody steals the piece of paper.

      Report Post »  
    • zorro
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 9:07am

      Chet…you don’t have to do that. Say your “favorite pet” was Fido. For security question purposes, make up a name like “Rex” or “Millie”. You can remember that. If you’re a Bears fan, answer the security question “Whose your favorite football team?” with Green Bay or just pick another team. Keep these to yourself.

      I think the point is, there are tiny little insignificant steps you can take to protect yourself and it‘s mind boggling to me that people like Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney don’t have advisors that point this very basic common sense things to.

      As far as the “hacker”, if he\she got into the account by guessing at the security question, he’s no “hacker”. He or she is a hack that got lucky and will get caught.

      Report Post »  
    • GMP
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 11:13am

      I think another lesson to be learned from this is to NOT have a hotmail account if you’re a presidential candidate. Hotmail isn’t exactly known as an impenetrable force of security…

      Report Post » GMP  
    • Machtyn
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:15am

      Or don’t use the security questions. Use a password generator and save your passwords in an application built for the purpose. Or, write them down on a piece of paper. It is quite a bit less likely that the generic hacker is going to break into your home and grab that physical piece of paper.

      Now, work passwords are different, of course. But we’re talking about personal email accounts and other website accounts.

      Report Post »  
  • LB
    Posted on June 6, 2012 at 12:36am

    Im sure IP address is out of Chicago..just saying

    Report Post » LB  
  • BurntHills
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 11:31pm

    put that democrat commie hacker in chains and take him down the street.

    Report Post » BurntHills  
  • Restore the Republic
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 11:23pm

    Democrat Filth.

    Report Post » Restore the Republic  
  • TRILO
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 11:22pm

    The biggest hackers and cyber warfare participants are our very own US government namely the DHS, CIA, etc. Who do you think sent the latest “flame” virus to Iran? So the USA can initiate a cyber attack but it we are attacked it is war? Sad thing is this virus will be used (if it hasn’t already) on US citizens next. http://technologydailynews.com/2012/06/stuxnet-virus-origin-confirmed-usa-and-isreali-governments/

    This is just a set up to get the sheeple’s panties in a bunch to go for the latest and greatest version of CISPA. If the “hackers” go after the republican darling then all of his supporters will cry foul & BEG the government to regulate the internet even more. SAVE US ! Have we as American citizens have not seen this scenario before… Government wants to control sheeple…. Government sets up problem….. Government comes to the rescue… Government gains control…Sheeple lose freedoms.

    Thanks to the recent propaganda bill that our “conservative” house members recently passed…. I believe NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that comes from our corrupt government and the pawns that support it called politicians.

    Besides, what the hell difference does it make if a hacker or the NSA gets ahold of your e-mails, etc. They are one and the same…. criminals.

    A word to all of you blind sheeple: Today you must fear your government more than you do the criminals on the street. If the sheeple do not wake up very soon, our country & our Constitution will b

    Report Post » TRILO  
    • rickc34
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 5:25am

      So what you are saying is Obama could be behind this? Makes sense. The left trolling for filth.

      Report Post »  
    • Athinkerinaseaoflibs
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 7:25am

      I assume that ANYTHING that is sent by any of the generic e-mail services is open to the public for scrutiny and ridicule. ALL e-mails can be found and read either legally or illegally. That applies to all e-mail not matter how it is sent regardless of the encryption or security that is used. If you don’t want people to see something that you wrote, for heaven’s sake don’t send it by e-mail!!!
      That being said let’s think up the nastiest “dirt” we can come up with about Romney. Maybe there was an e-mail from his wife that he should bring home some root beer for family night so they can have root beer floats? We all know how evil sugar is. Maybe there is some evil communication concerning the family reunion. There may have been some air travel involved and this would have increased their carbon footprint. Maybe there was a note to his stock broker to pull his money out of General Motors–you know he wants GM to fail.
      I don’t know what people hope to find out–the guy is human and has a life. I am sure that Romney has skeleton in his closet so the liberal press insists on finding them. Everyone has a few closet dwellers in their life. The best we can hope for is that they stay in closet long enough to collect a lot of dust. But at the end of the day, he just appears more presidential by the way he handles them.

      Report Post »  
  • 13th Imam
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 11:01pm

    Hackers should be strung up. Like horse thieves in the old west. After a fair but fast trial.

    Report Post » 13th Imam  
  • Cloverfield
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:54pm

    If it is true, I hope Romney sues the s*** out of them. I would. Generally I don’t like suits but if it is political and done with bad intentions then go for it,
    .

    Report Post »  
  • Tigress1
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:48pm

    The Progressives are just desperate to get SOMETHING, ANYTHING on Romney! It’s probably some Occupier or wacked-out college kid just like the one that hacked into Sarah Palin’s account.

    Report Post » Tigress1  
  • KidCharlemagne
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:46pm

    I wonder if this is how the Wall Street Journal recently discovered that Romney personally pushed for the individual mandate back in 2006?:

    ———————————————————————-
    “Romney pushed for individual mandate in Massachusetts health care law, emails show

    By Holly Bailey
    The Ticket
    June 5, 2012

    Mitt Romney has distanced himself from the health care reform bill he signed as governor of Massachusetts amid criticism that the law bears more than a passing resemblance to Obamacare, which he’s repeatedly pledged to repeal if elected in November.

    But a series of emails obtained by the Wall Street Journal reveals Romney was actively engaged in negotiating the specifics of the 2006 Massachusetts bill and that he and his top aides championed a provision identical to one in President Barack Obama’s law requiring individuals to have or buy health insurance.”
    http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/romney-pushed-individual-mandate-massachusetts-health-care-law-144554113.html

    Report Post »  
    • soybomb315
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 11:01pm

      i saw that article too. Uh oooh

      Report Post » soybomb315  
    • soybomb315
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 11:19pm

      Romney’s claim all along was that romneycare was forced down is throat and he had to compromise. If these emails get to the mainstream – they would indicate Romney lied about it and is now a hypocrite when it comes to Obamacare. That’s the reason theblaze did not run this story

      Report Post » soybomb315  
  • ktmrider1
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:44pm

    a hacker employed by obama whats next a drone strike on Mitts house?

    Report Post » ktmrider1  
  • llotus
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:37pm

    Looks like FAST AND CURIOUS to me. Lotus.

    Report Post »  
  • TJexcite
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:32pm

    I wonder if the secret service is also investigating.

    You can forward mail from Hotmail to another account and not keep telling the Hotmail address so you do not confuse everyone to change the address and which on to send to and who has 6 year old email left on Hotmail that is really important.

    Report Post » TJexcite  
  • MrButcher
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:23pm

    And still we don’t know what Obama wrote in his dissertation.

    The Left is insane.

    Let them self destruct.

    Report Post » MrButcher  
  • CatB
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:21pm

    Go to jail .. go directly to jail … they can trace this back … but will the current regime? Or are they the hackers?

    Report Post »  
  • JQCitizen
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:20pm

    Yeah, they hacked into his email and found out he likes Mom and Apple Pie, and he REALLY LOVES his Wife!

    Com’on, Libs. WHAT did you think you would find.?

    Report Post »  
  • scherzophrenic
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:18pm

    What fool uses hotmail as a secure email?

    Report Post » scherzophrenic  
    • XIIHICKSIIX
      Posted on June 5, 2012 at 11:17pm

      It says “personal Email”.. read the story

      Report Post »  
    • zorro
      Posted on June 6, 2012 at 9:09am

      Regardless….no one should be using Hotmail. That was just stupid.

      Report Post »  
  • Wrabbit2000
    Posted on June 5, 2012 at 10:17pm

    Just a general thought on this, but I really am coming to feel some pretty strong penalties are necessary with the hacking into personal and private places, against individuals. Politicians or not, the personal Email boxes are no more our business than the most intimate details of their family lives. The free violation of everything and everyone in sight by the hacking is really getting out of hand, IMO.

    Report Post »  

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