US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says she has been flooded with "obscene and sick" calls and text messages after a hacker linked to Russia posted personal contact information online for her and hundreds of other Democratic politicians and aides.
Pelosi sent a letter to colleagues warning them to take precautions and said she was changing her phone number after a hacker identified as "Guccifer 2.0" posted the personal mobile phone numbers and email addresses on Friday.
The posted information appeared to have been gained in the electronic breach of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the fundraising and campaign arm of Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Other Democratic campaign groups, including the Democratic National Committee, also were targeted by the cyber attack, which was made public late last month.
"On a personal note, I was in the air flying from Florida to California when the news broke. Upon landing, I have received scores of mostly obscene and sick calls, voicemails and text messages," Pelosi told her colleagues on Saturday, urging them to keep their phones and incoming text messages away from their family members and children.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"This is a sad course of events, not only for us, but more importantly for our country," said Pelosi, who earlier in the week blamed Russia for the cyber attack and called it an "electronic Watergate" akin to the 1972 burglary at Democratic Party headquarters that ultimately brought down Republican President Richard Nixon.
US intelligence officials have concluded that Guccifer 2.0 is an individual or group operating with or for the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency. Russia has denied involvement in the breach.
