Hackers are increasing efforts to steal and manipulate emails from critics of the Russian government, according to a report from Citizen Lab, recipient of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Documents stolen from a prominent journalist and critic of the Russian government were manipulated and then released as a “leak” to discredit domestic and foreign critics of the government – a tactic called “tainted leaks.” Citizen Lab researchers assert that the range of targets and the significant resources required for this hacking suggests the hackers were acting in Russian interests.
