Bloomberg finds out there have been new attacks on America from Russian hackers: this time Trump’s critics are the targets. Some of the victims paid up to $150 thousand to the hackers for non-disclosure of confidential information they had obtained.

Russian hackers conducted a series of attacks on American liberal organizations, demanding a ransom for non-disclosure of confidential information they had obtained through hacking their e-mails and networking applications like SharePoint that allows sharing Microsoft Office files, Bloomberg reported citing sources with information from the FBI and private security companies.

According to the agency, Center for American Progress (Washington think tank) turned out to be one of the victims. The center is known for its severe criticism of US President Donald Trump and urges to make a thorough investigation of the ties his close associates may have with some Russian officials.

There is an example in Bloomberg’s story where the hackers were extorting a ransom from a nonprofit organization that had been discussing with a sponsor the possibilities of using grants to recover some of the expenses to the protesters against Trump’s policy, judging by the organization’s files.

In some of the cases, the hackers did get the ransoms that ranged from $30 thousand to $150 thousand. According to a Bloomberg’s source, the money was paid in bitcoins.

The FBI refused to comment on the new cyberattacks covered by Bloomberg. However, the agency's experts pointed out that the methods the unknown hackers used were reminiscent of those employed by the Cozy Bear group that had hacked the Democrats’ computer networks on the eve of the US 2016 presidential election. The group is assumed to have some links with Russian special services.

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