The Democratic National Committee is creating an advisory board on cybersecurity in the aftermath of an embarrassing email hack prior to the party’s national convention last month.
Interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile said in a memo obtained by The Associated Press that the board will work to prevent future attacks and ensure that the party’s cybersecurity capabilities are the best possible.
According to Politico reporter Nolan McCaskill, the board will be filled by several former federal technologists, including Rand Beers, former acting Homeland Security Secretary; former Federal CTOs Nicole Wong and Aneesh Copra; and Michael Sussmann, a former cybercrime prosecutor with the Department of Justice.
The leak exposed conversations between low-level and top Democratic Party officials, some of which showed a clear favoritism for candidate Bernie Sanders.
Brazile said in the memo that DNC lawyers have thoroughly reviewed the emails that were released and will be notifying affected individuals next week.
In the wake of the email dump, former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democratic congresswoman from Florida, announced she would be stepping down from her position just before the convention kicked off.
The hack itself has been widely attributed to Russia, including a rare acknowledgement from President Barack Obama that the foreign power could be meddling in U.S. elections.
“What the motives were in terms of the leaks, all that — I can’t say directly,” Obama told NBC News in July. Asked directly whether he believes Russia is attempting to influence U.S. elections, the president said, “Anything’s possible.”
Additional reporting and context added by Federal Times reporter Aaron Boyd.
