--- title: White House Hacked: Computer Networks Breached, Reportedly By Russians description: Hackers believed to be employed by the Russian government have breached the White House computer networks canonical: https://time.com/3545542/white-house-hackers-breached/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-29T11:40:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:46:48.390Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House Hacked: Computer Networks Breached, Reportedly By Russians og:description: Hackers believed to be employed by the Russian government have breached the White House computer networks og:url: https://time.com/3545542/white-house-hackers-breached/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb49f42f104769ea7/6987631b2dce0182fa9db2fe/white-house.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House Hacked: Computer Networks Breached, Reportedly By Russians twitter:description: Hackers believed to be employed by the Russian government have breached the White House computer networks twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb49f42f104769ea7/6987631b2dce0182fa9db2fe/white-house.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House Computer Networks Hacked > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: John Earnest: Hack on White House Network [Watch (HLS stream): John Earnest: Hack on White House Network](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7jhxGyFl.m3u8) (0:42)  _Published 2014-10-30. John Earnest: Hack on White House Network_ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Oct 29, 2014 11:40 AM UTC  Early morning sunrise is seen over the White House in Washington, Oct. 28, 2014. Early morning sunrise is seen over the White House in Washington, Oct. 28, 2014. Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Oct 29, 2014 11:40 AM UTC Hackers believed to be employed by the Russian government [breached White House computer networks](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/us/white-house-cites-a-breach-by-hackers-.html?src=xps) in recent weeks, temporarily disrupting services. Citing unnamed sources, the Washington _Post_ reported there was no evidence that hackers had breached classified networks or that any of the systems were damaged. Intranet or VPN access was shut off for a period but the email system was never downed. The breach was discovered two to three weeks ago, after U.S. officials were alerted to it by an unnamed ally. “On a regular basis, there are bad actors out there who are attempting to achieve intrusions into our system,” a White House official told the _Post_. “This is a constant battle for the government and our sensitive government computer systems, so it’s always a concern for us that individuals are trying to compromise systems and get access to our networks.” Cybersecurity firms in recent weeks have identified NATO, the Ukrainian government and U.S. defense contractors as targets of Russian hackers thought to be working for the government. \[[The Washington _Post_](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/us/white-house-cites-a-breach-by-hackers-.html?src=xps)\] ## Transcript The White House has detected some activity of concern on the White House network. There is an ongoing effort to evaluate. That activity. And to mitigate the risk associated with that activity. In the context of those efforts, the Administration is continuing to learn all we can about where those activities originated. 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