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Wisconsin Republican Party Says Hackers Stole $2.3 Million (apnews.com) 162

Hackers stole $2.3 million from the Wisconsin Republican Party's account that was being used to help reelect President Donald Trump in the key battleground state, the party's chairman told The Associated Press on Thursday. From a report: The party noticed the suspicious activity on Oct. 22 and contacted the FBI on Friday, said Republican Party Chairman Andrew Hitt. Hitt said the FBI is investigating. The attack was discovered less than two weeks before Election Day as both Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden made their final push to win Wisconsin and its 10 electoral votes. Trump won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016 and planned his third visit in seven days on Friday. Biden also planned to campaign in Wisconsin on Friday. Polls have consistently shown a tight race in the state, usually with Biden ahead by single digits and within the margin of error.
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Wisconsin Republican Party Says Hackers Stole $2.3 Million

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  • by nomadic ( 141991 ) <nomadicworld@ g m a i l . com> on Thursday October 29, 2020 @10:33AM (#60662354) Homepage

    That money was earmarked to be stolen by the Trump campaign already.

    • specifically to keep it out of Trump's reach.

      I kept reading stories about how Trump's campaign was broke and pulling ads in battleground states. That didn't make sense, big money donors always hedge their bets and give to both candidates.

      Turns out they're just using Super PACs to campaign for Trump because they didn't trust him with the money. So pro-Trump Super PACs are running all the ads and thanks to Citizens United and Dark Money they can coordinate with the campaign even though that's supposed
      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        The term Useful Idiot keeps coming to mind

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          The term Useful Idiot keeps coming to mind

          That is the exact phrase I used when my dad asked me why Republicans don't see what a dementia-laden corrupt criminal the con artist is. I said he's a useful idiot because they can use him to get what they want (i.e. bigger, more intrusive government, restrictions on women, etc).

          Anyone who is unwilling to see, or simply ignores, what a failure the orange buffoon is clearly has mental issues of their own.
        • of a girl talking to her parents about her date. She says the guy seems nice, he's in good with Jesus and all that, but he's got a bunch of sexual assault accusations, he's in debt up to his eyeballs and he constantly insults people and makes veiled threats.

          Her mom & dad start to freak out and ask "Why the hell would you date somebody like that" and she says "IDK, why'd you vote for somebody like that".

          Not sure how real it is, but the two parents rolled their eyes and looked pretty annoyed so I'
          • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

            Not sure how real it is, but the two parents rolled their eyes and looked pretty annoyed so I'm thinking it was. Either way it's hilariously insightful.

            This story can be completely believable when you read about the Wives of the Deplorables [cnn.com] who had no clue their husbands were misogynist, racist idiots.
            • I've seen this a lot lately: "I'm so much happier since I stopped following politics".

              A lot of people focus on non-voters who don't think their vote counts, but there are a *lot* of non-voters who know their vote counts, but keeping track of how and why to vote and for who is _stressful_.
              • In any electoral system based on winning constituencies, some votes are going to matter a lot more than others.

                I live in a district which has voted the same way for five elections in a row, usually by large margins. Candidates hardly even bother campaigning here.

      • by Roger W Moore ( 538166 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @12:44PM (#60662732) Journal

        So they trust Trump to run the country but not with their money.

        I don't think that's quite right. I think they are using the same approach you outline with the election. They don't trust Trump to run the US they just believe that they can manage Trump to get people they approve of into the positions where they run the US. Trump is fantastic at that job. He seems to be able to simply ignore ony catastrophic decisions they make that would sink any reasonable politician from any political party. He also makes lots of noise so everyone is distracted either admiring or throwing rotten fruit at the dancing clown while they can get on with governing out of the spotlight.

        They have created a new type of government, an oligarchic coulrocracy, and they would very much like to keep it.

        • I am glad someone finally understands misdirection. People get so focused on what he tweets and meanwhile all this other shit goes on in the background. It used to be deluberate, but since his alleged stroke it seems more gibberish than anything.

      • Turns out they're just using Super PACs to campaign for Trump because they didn't trust him with the money.

        Cite?

        That's totally believable, but I'd like to see some solid sourcing.

  • by Futurepower(R) ( 558542 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @10:36AM (#60662358) Homepage
    Ballrooms, candles and luxury cottages: During Trump’s term, millions of government and GOP dollars have flowed to his properties [washingtonpost.com].

    Again: Amazing! There is more negative news about Trump in more categories than any other person in the history of the world. Trump supporters don't answer the negative issues. I wish they would.
    • by Darinbob ( 1142669 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @11:05AM (#60662468)

      One can't get more hypocritical than Trump here without being a televangelist caught running a brothel.

      "Because I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf. Believe me." And yet, he's played golf while in office more often than any other president, more than Obama who Trump criticized for playing golf. Hypocrisy.

      Also, he says he is not working on his business, he has given control to his two oldest sons. The same sons who are actively working within the White House administration and active on his campaign. Sounds like a clear conflict of interest and his promise not to profit off of the presidency has been another lie.

      Never mind that he gave up his salary, and so many here on Slashdot point to that as proof he's sacrificing his wealth to help America - he's raking in millions from his businesses, with money coming both from taxpayers and his campaign funds. He could hold some of these events at a Marriot or somewhere else and be neutral about it, but he wants to show off Mar-a-Lago and market it and profit off of it. He could have given his staffers a small per-diem, have them pay for drinks out of they own pockets instead of having taxpayers and donors foot the bills. Anyone who says Trump is losing money or making a sacrifice has fallen victim to his con.

      The Trump presidency is essentially a Trump business opportunity.

      • And yet, he's played golf while in office more often than any other president, more than Obama who Trump criticized for playing golf. Hypocrisy.

        Yes, but every hour out on the golf course is one less hour making crazy policy decisions. Of all the incredibly long list of things, you can criticize Trump for I'd take this one as a net win for humanity and give him a pass on it.

        • He can make crazy policy decisions while on the golf course. It is after all a common place to make business deals.

    • Here's your answer: "Lies, it's all lies and fake news! You can't trust anybody except Trump and he says that's the way it is!"
      • by Z80a ( 971949 )

        The best "pro trump" argument is "he's a lot more stupid than the democrats, so the US can thrive despite having an idiot causing some damage than some smartass causing a lot of damage".

    • by hey! ( 33014 )

      People pay too much attention to net worth and not enough to cash flow. You might have zero net worth but with a health cash flow you can live like a king. You can be worth billions, but if your cash flow dries up and your wealth is tied up in things you can't turn into ready cash, you're in trouble.

      Donald Trump is, as far as anyone knows, a very rich man. But the rich man's personal freedom, his glamour and influence over people ... that all comes from having ready cash. Trump's big cash cow is real

      • That's not how finances work for the super-rich. Their finances are complex, and deliberately hidden. For a start, they are usually saddled with massive debt - but it's massive debt at near-zero interest rates, because it is secured on assets they own. This is a matter of tax-efficiency in a global economy: It lets them keep their real wealth in the form of those assets stored in conveniently un-taxed form.

        Why sell your mansion and pay capital gains tax, when you can instead take out a very-low-interest lon

        • by hey! ( 33014 )

          I spent over a decade working at a non-profit which was stuffed full of trust fund kids; I know how this works.

          Rich people generally don't have money bags stashed away in vaults, they put it to work. When they need cash they borrow it, which is easy because they have gobs of collateral and income. I had a young guy working for -- 25 years old -- who bought racing yacht on credit because his investments were earning more than the loan interest.

          If you're rich, your credit is shit, and your cash cows are dry

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Shotgun ( 30919 )

      What should we do? Vote for Biden and avoid the middleman?

      And all that "negative news" is mostly made up nonsense like claiming he suggested people should inject bleach, or that he supported white supremecists. You were answered and told how foolish you looked for repeating the debunked lies, but you just keep going at it.

      • "And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me."

        How do you interpret those words? The "by injection inside" part REALLY sounds like he is suggesting injecting disinfectant

        • by kqs ( 1038910 )

          I see the problem now. You are using "the words he said". His supporters use "the words we are sure he said" instead; it cuts down on all of the confusion and uncertainty. This is the same logic used when people "know" that Hillary/Obama/Clinton/Biden is going to take away all the guns guns since they "know" that Hillary/Obama/Clinton/Biden said that.

    • Trump is a con man. His management style is his whim. Trump has no engineering thinking.
      The lying, the porn stars, the rape cases, using the courts to abuse justice,

      I have said nothing about his policies because that can be personal opinion.
      But his flawed character has created many very bad policies.

      As for the article, "There are still white hat hackers that steals from the evil"
  • by EndlessNameless ( 673105 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @10:36AM (#60662360)

    I used to sympathize with phishing victims. But we're at the point where it's really inexcusable in a professional context.

  • How the hell? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Camel Pilot ( 78781 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @10:37AM (#60662366) Homepage Journal

    Oh

    the hackers manipulated invoices from four vendors who were being paid for direct mail for Trump’s reelection efforts as well as for pro-Trump material such as hats to be handed out to supporters. Invoices and other documents were altered so when the party paid them for the services rendered, the money went to the hackers instead of the vendors

    So it looks like someone generated a fake invoice and possibly a different bank routing number and someone paid it.

    • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @10:57AM (#60662444)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Re:How the hell? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by timeOday ( 582209 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @11:01AM (#60662456)
        I disagree, I once accidentally made a house payment to my credit card company instead of the bank with the mortgage by clicking the payee in my online banking. Do you think I could have called the mortgage bank and said, "sorry, I paid it to somebody, you're not getting it ever!" I don't see that flying at all.
      • if I owe a vendor money and I don't pay them (paying a scammer instead) then I still owe that vendor money.

        That said, it's not uncommon in politics for parties and candidates to never pay vendors. So if the GOP already got the service there's a good chance they're in the clear and the vendor will get screwed. They could sue the party, but, well, the party has a lot of political power they can and will leverage to make the vendor go away.
        • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

          if I owe a vendor money and I don't pay them (paying a scammer instead) then I still owe that vendor money.

          That said, it's not uncommon in politics for parties and candidates to never pay vendors. So if the GOP already got the service there's a good chance they're in the clear and the vendor will get screwed. They could sue the party, but, well, the party has a lot of political power they can and will leverage to make the vendor go away.

          You do realize Trump is the master businessman at this, right? Trump's

    • Re:How the hell? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by grasshoppa ( 657393 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @10:59AM (#60662452) Homepage

      You'd be surprised at how successful this technique is with businesses in general, especially in mid-sized businesses. They're small enough that they don't have the controls in place to catch this, but large enough to think that abstracting away bill oversight from those doing the work is a good idea.

  • by Sebby ( 238625 )
    "Ah-Ha!"
  • by gillbates ( 106458 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @10:54AM (#60662426) Homepage Journal

    Couldn't they have just made a contribution to the Democratic party by mistake?

    Asking for a friend.

  • Inside job (Score:5, Interesting)

    by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @11:03AM (#60662462) Homepage Journal

    If you have a bunch of campaign contributions that are heavily regulated, what better way to get access to it than to hire someone to "steal" it for you? Simply run some plausibly incompetent security practices, and point your hired hacker at it for a split. I'm not accusing anyone in particular in the GOP, I have no idea who did this. But I'd bet some dirty politician is involved.

  • by Kevoco ( 64263 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @11:15AM (#60662502)

    Just tell whomever you wanna buy stuff from that you're good for it, then don't pay

  • by dontfearthereaper ( 2657807 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @11:54AM (#60662602)
    Stop with the conjecture, wild speculation, and other partisan BS and let the feds do their job. Incomplete, generally half-assed reporting, mass disinformation and wild speculation is how we wound up in the state of civil unrest that we're in now. There are enough bad actors in both parties that would commit such crimes against the other with the goal of subversion.
    • wild speculation

      I will just err on the side of caution and assume all wild speculation about Trump is not only true, but actually even worse than we could ever have imagined.

  • by albeit unknown ( 136964 ) on Thursday October 29, 2020 @11:59AM (#60662610)
    Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and the United Negro College Fund announced record earnings this week, due mostly to large, anonymous donations.
  • That's half of their shuttle bus budget! What will they do now!

  • So sending a fake or altered invoice is hacking now? Sad.

    Politics aside, this is just stealing - it's wrong no matter who the target was.
    • by Pembers ( 250842 )

      The thieves intercepted some real invoices and altered the payee details. That allows them to bypass most of the checks that the victim should be doing (e.g., "is this an invoice for something we've actually ordered?") That should require some skill and determination, but I expect at least one person in this story has an email password of "maga2020!", so... yeah.

  • With what's been shown out of that bunch recently, who's to say they didn't turn it over to the guy that did it?

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell

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