Hackers believed to be working for Russia targeted the Moscow bureau of the New York Times in an attempted cyberattack earlier in the month.
The cyberattack, however, was said to have failed, with no evidence showing that it was successful.
"We are constantly monitoring our systems with the latest available intelligence and tools," said New York Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy, who noted that it does not look like any of the company's systems, including those in Moscow, were breached by the attack.
It was reported that the New York Times, along with other media organizations in the United States that were not identified, were the targets of a series of cyberattacks that were detected over recent months. The FBI, along with other security agencies, are investigating the attempted security breaches.
Investigators are so far linking the cyberattacks to Russian intelligence agencies, with Russian hackers targeting news organizations as part of a wider series of attacks that focus on organizations of the Democratic Party.
Intelligence officials believe that Russian spy agencies are launching the cyberattacks to acquire information from a long list of non-governmental organizations that have connections to the political system of the United States. As such, news organizations would be prime targets, as they hold valuable data such as contacts of reporters in the government, along with unpublished reports and communications containing sensitive information.
The political parties of the United States have also been affected by the waves of cyberattacks being launched, including the Democratic National Committee, the campaign of presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the congressional fundraising committee of the party, along with organizations of the Republican Party and the systems of presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Trump famously invited Russia to investigate the 30,000 emails that Clinton deleted from her time with the State Department, when she used a private server.
"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said last month, though adding that him having the ability to instruct Russian hackers was farfetched.
Still, Trump could possibly influence the targets being selected by Russian hackers, especially if the country's government is supporting his race for the presidency. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has previously praised Trump as a brilliant and talented man, with Michael McFaul, the former ambassador of the United States to Russia, stating that Putin has strong motives in wanting Trump to prevail in the elections with the means to exert an influence on the presidential vote.
Such means include cyberattacks, McFaul said, and if Russian hackers can be influenced, directly or indirectly by Trump, news organizations would be a prime target, given the fact that Trump sees them as political opponents.
Russia has been tagged as a major cybersecurity threat by U.S. Cyber Command's deputy commander, Lt. Gen. James K. McLaughlin.
