Russian hackers who were behind a breach at the State Department also hit sensitive parts of the White House computer system, a report on Tuesday said.

U.S. officials familiar with the investigation told CNN that hackers had access to non-public and real-time details on President Barack Obama�s schedule. U.S. officials said the information is quite sensitive and is highly valuable to foreign intelligence agencies.

Investigators think the hackers broke into the State Department and used it as a base to hack into the White House. One official told the news outlet that Russian hackers have �owned� the State Department�s computer network, noting they�ve been able to reenter the systems.

They also believe the intrusion at the White House started off with a phishing email launched from a State Department account that was taken over by Russian hackers, the report says.

Phishing refers to an attack that involves a victim receiving an email that appears to originate from an official institution like a government agency and then entices the victim to click on a link to a malicious website. Usually, for government officials, the hackers use more pointed methods that are referred to as �spear fishing.� The hackers �may go to great lengths to gather specific personal or institutional information in the hope of making the attack more believable and increasing the likelihood of its success,� says Indiana University�s Knowledge Base.

In 2012, the White House confirmed that the White House�s system was breached by Chinese hackers.

�So many times, the Chinese and others get access to our systems just by pretending to be someone else and then asking for access, and someone gives it to them,� Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in January. He said in February that the �Russian cyberthreat is more severe than we have previously assessed.�

CNN�s report on the White House and State Department hacking come after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a 2016 presidential hopeful, was criticized for using a private email account to conduct government business. However, as CNN notes, the Russian security breach appears to have occurred after Clinton left office.

(Source: Epoch Times)