The attempt to sabotage or influence the US elections seems much larger than previously expected.

Numerous anonymous sources from an ongoing investigation claim that no less than 39 states fell victim to the attack of Russian hackers, who supposedly tried to delete or alter election data on a massive scale. The size of the hack prompted the Obama administration to take action in as early as October by sending a direct warning to the Kremlin, which stated the seriousness of the attack and its consequences should Russia continue with its meddling. Russia responded as usual by denying any involvement.

Now researchers state that they have solid evidence supporting the Russian involvement in hacking the US elections. They could even be held responsible for the major leak which spread valuable information of the Democratic Party such as the e-mail scandal Hillary Clinton was involved in. It is unclear as to why the Russians did not use their access to more than half of the states to exact further influence on the elections. One anonymous official theorizes two answers: Either the hackers did not achieve their goal completely and did not get full access to the election system, or the stern warning from the Obama administration was heeded by Russia. However, most sources agree that a frightening precedent has been set and that the next election in the United States could be an even bigger threat with all the information gathered by hackers during the current one.