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The DNC was "hacked" by its own people

The clickjack is coming from inside the house.

An attempted cyber attack on the Democratic National Committee’s voter database turned out to be a “test” run by a state party security team, a relieved DNC announced Wednesday.

After news of the attempted hack broke Wednesday, DNC chief security officer Bob Lord announced it was actually part of a simulated test in which an unauthorized unnamed third party “mimicked several attributes of actual attacks on the Democratic Party's voter file,” but didn’t actually collect any sensitive information, Lord said in a statement. He added that it “was not authorized by the DNC, VoteBuilder nor any of our vendors.”

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A person familiar with the alleged attack told the Washington Post on Thursday morning that the attack was actually organized by the Michigan Democratic party, who declined to notify the DNC it was happening.

“There are constant attempts to hack the DNC and our Democratic infrastructure, and while we are extremely relieved that this wasn't an attempted intrusion by a foreign adversary, this incident is further proof that we need to continue to be vigilant in light of potential attacks,” Lord said.

The hackers set up a fake login page to collect usernames and passwords from DNC voters, the DNC said on Wednesday. After discovering the page’s existence on Tuesday, they immediately contacted the FBI, fearing the hack was created by foreign adversaries.

“We, along with the partners who reported the site, now believe it was built by a third party as part of a simulated phishing test on VoteBuilder,” Lord said in a statement. “The test, which mimicked several attributes of actual attacks on the Democratic party's voter file, was not authorized by the DNC, VoteBuilder nor any of our vendors.”

Cover image: The headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is seen in Washington, DC, August 22, 2018, after reports indicated that the DNC notified the FBI of an attempt by hackers to infiltrate the organization's voter database. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images.