title:  No Longer Just Suspicion: Experts Trace DNC Hacker Back To Russian Internet Server
text: Rumors that the DNC hack was tied to Russia have been swirling for several days, but now, this is no longer just a mere suspicion. Researchers with ThreatConnect, who specialize in cyber security, have traced the hacker back to a Russian internet server.According to the Arlington, Va. based ThreatConnect, Guccifer 2.0, the DNC Hacker who has described himself/herself as Romanian, has been linked to a Russian internet server and a digital address that has been associated with various Russian online scams. Guccifer 2.0 is not thought to be a sophisticated hacker. Researchers with ThreatCOnnect believe it is more likely that this is propaganda by a group of people working with the Russian government in an effort to take attention off Moscow as the actual force behind the DNC hack. Now, after further investigation, we can confirm that Guccifer 2.0 is using the Russia-based Elite VPN service to communicate and leak documents directly with the media. We reached this conclusion by analyzing the infrastructure associated with an email exchange with Guccifer 2.0 shared with ThreatConnect by Vocativ s Senior Privacy and Security reporter Kevin Collier. This discovery strengthens our ongoing assessment that Guccifer 2.0 is a Russian propaganda effort and not an independent actor. The experts with ThreatConnect are the first to trace the self-proclaimed hacker back to Russia.Rich Barger, ThreatConnect s chief intelligence officer, reiterated his believe that the party responsible was not a  sophisticated hacker  when speaking with The Daily Beast. These are bureaucrats, not sophisticated hackers,  he insisted. Barger backed up his assessment up with the following:Republican nominee Donald Trump has had an ongoing bromance with Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Many have said they believe that the DNC hack and subsequent email dump were an attempt by Putin to help out his billionaire buddy s bid for the presidency.Featured image via Lintao Zhang/Getty Images