Email Tweet Authorities investigate if Romney's email was hacked Published: June 5, 2012 8:35 PM By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo credit: AP | Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gestures during a campaign stop at Southwest Office Systems. (June5, 2012) WASHINGTON - Authorities are investigating whether Mitt Romney 's private email account was hacked, his presidential campaign saidTuesday. The website Gawker reported Tuesday that an anonymous hacker hadsigned into Romney's personal Hotmail account. Gawker reported thatthe hacker guessed the answer to a security question about Romney'sfavorite pet in order to gain access to the account and change thepassword.
The anonymous hacker told the website that Romney'saccount on DropBox, a file sharing service, also was compromised. Romney's campaign said that "proper authorities are investigatingthis crime." Campaign spokeswoman Gail Gitcho refused to commentfurther and would not say who was investigating. She also would notsay whether Romney still uses the Hotmail account. Romney isn't the first politician to face security problems with aprivate email account.
Just weeks before the 2008 presidentialelection, a Tennessee college student accessed the private emails of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin . The student, David Kernell, was convicted in April 2010 after Palin and her daughter Bristol testified about harassment and disruption they suffered. Kernellhad correctly guessed answers to security questions guarding Palin 's account, giving him access. Romney's private Hotmail account was accepting email as recently asMarch 2012. As of Tuesday evening, the address was returning emailsas undeliverable, citing an "unknown address." Romney's private email address, mittromney(at)hotmail.com, wasincluded in documents obtained and published earlier this year byThe Associated Press. Hydraulic Piston Pumps
It was also included in documents attached toa Tuesday Wall Street Journal story. The address became public because Romney used it to conductstate business when he served as governor of Massachusetts , and some of his private emails were obtained under the Massachusetts Public Records Law. Romney has used both a Hotmail account and an email account linkedto his mittromney.com presidential campaign website. In August2006, Romney told a group of recipients that all future emails wereto be directed to the mittromney.com campaign account. Hydraulic Piston Pumps Manufacturer
Romney wrote that, effective immediately, the new account would behis new email address. "Please keep it confidential as its use isfor family and close friends," he wrote. "I will no longer be usingmy Hotmail account." One month later, Romney again used the Hotmail address to emailrevisions of an editorial he was writing. In March, the AP sent emails to each of Romney's private accounts.Both appeared to be operative at that time, but he did not reply. A Microsoft spokeswoman said Hotmail accounts are closed after 270 days ofinactivity and incoming emails sent afterward are rejected asundeliverable. Tandem Piston Pump
Neither of Romney's accounts bounced messages backto the AP in March. An email sent to his private Hotmail account Tuesday bounced backas undeliverable.
The anonymous hacker told the website that Romney'saccount on DropBox, a file sharing service, also was compromised. Romney's campaign said that "proper authorities are investigatingthis crime." Campaign spokeswoman Gail Gitcho refused to commentfurther and would not say who was investigating. She also would notsay whether Romney still uses the Hotmail account. Romney isn't the first politician to face security problems with aprivate email account.
Just weeks before the 2008 presidentialelection, a Tennessee college student accessed the private emails of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin . The student, David Kernell, was convicted in April 2010 after Palin and her daughter Bristol testified about harassment and disruption they suffered. Kernellhad correctly guessed answers to security questions guarding Palin 's account, giving him access. Romney's private Hotmail account was accepting email as recently asMarch 2012. As of Tuesday evening, the address was returning emailsas undeliverable, citing an "unknown address." Romney's private email address, mittromney(at)hotmail.com, wasincluded in documents obtained and published earlier this year byThe Associated Press. Hydraulic Piston Pumps
It was also included in documents attached toa Tuesday Wall Street Journal story. The address became public because Romney used it to conductstate business when he served as governor of Massachusetts , and some of his private emails were obtained under the Massachusetts Public Records Law. Romney has used both a Hotmail account and an email account linkedto his mittromney.com presidential campaign website. In August2006, Romney told a group of recipients that all future emails wereto be directed to the mittromney.com campaign account. Hydraulic Piston Pumps Manufacturer
Romney wrote that, effective immediately, the new account would behis new email address. "Please keep it confidential as its use isfor family and close friends," he wrote. "I will no longer be usingmy Hotmail account." One month later, Romney again used the Hotmail address to emailrevisions of an editorial he was writing. In March, the AP sent emails to each of Romney's private accounts.Both appeared to be operative at that time, but he did not reply. A Microsoft spokeswoman said Hotmail accounts are closed after 270 days ofinactivity and incoming emails sent afterward are rejected asundeliverable. Tandem Piston Pump
Neither of Romney's accounts bounced messages backto the AP in March. An email sent to his private Hotmail account Tuesday bounced backas undeliverable.