FBI probes phone-hacking of Democratic Party officials

The revelation underscores the widening scope of the US criminal inquiry into cyber attacks on Democratic Party organisations, including the presidential campaign of its candidate, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. US officials have said they believe those attacks were orchestrated by hackers backed by the Russian government, possibly to disrupt the November 8 election in which Clinton faces Republican Party candidate Donald Trump. 

Russia has dismissed allegations it was involved in cyber-attacks on the organisations. The more recent attempted phone hacking also appears to have been conducted by Russian-backed hackers, two people with knowledge of the situation said. Federal Bureau of Investigation representatives had no immediate comment, and a Clinton campaign spokesman said they were unaware of the suspected phone hacking. 

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) did not respond to a request for comment. An official of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) said that nobody at the organisation had been contacted by investigators about possible phone hacking.