Jailed Hacker Claims Proof He Breached DNC on Russia's Orders

Konstantin Kozlovsky, a jailed Russian who claims he hacked the Democratic National Committee, now says he can prove Russian intelligence ordered him to steal emails released during the 2016 US presidential election.

Earlier this year, Kozlovsky made headlines when his confession to hacking the DNC on Russia's orders was made public. He was arrested on a separate charge this year, as an alleged member of a hacking group that stole more than $50 million from Russian bank accounts.

In an interview with a Russian television station made public Dec. 27, Kozlovsky reported more details on what he said was an operation led by the Russian intelligence agency FSB to hack the DNC. He claims he planted a string of numbers -- his Russian passport and visa number to visit the island of St. Martin -- in a generic .dat file. The idea was to give himself a safety net in case those who directed the attack turned on him, he claims.

In other details released this week, Kozlovsky said he collaborated with the FSB to create computer viruses. These were first tested on large Russian corporations and later used on multinational businesses, according to a published McClatchy report.

The report also notes Kozlovsky's statements are tough to prove because few people know the details of the hack. DNC hired CrowdStrike to investigate the breach; the tech firm had "no immediate comment" on Kozlovsky's claims about an implanted file, the report states. Further, it continues, the hacker claims he mostly worked from home and the DNC attack was one of many on other nations and the private sector.

Read more details here.