WASHINGTON
Russian hackers were able to penetrate the White House’s computer system and even gained access to President Barack Obama's personal schedule and call records, CNN reported Tuesday.
"We do not believe that our classified systems were compromised," said Ben Rhoden, White House deputy national security adviser.
But according to the news network, the hackers were able to reach only an unclassified area of the system – information that would still be considered sensitive and valuable to foreign intelligence agencies.
"We have different systems in the White House. We have an unclassified system, and we have a classified system. A top secret system – that's where the sensitive natural security information is secured," Rhoden told CNN.
The report is not new, said National Security Council spokesman Mark Stroh. "It is speculating on the attribution of the activity of concern on the unclassified EOP network that the White House disclosed last year," he said, referring to the Executive Office of the President.
The White House said last October that it had identified potentially threatening activity on its computer network and reported the suspicious issues to address it.
CNN said that in order to breach the White House system, hackers first had to go through the State Department computers that have been "owned" by Russian hackers for months.
The FBI, Secret Service and U.S. intelligence agencies are all involved in the investigation.
The White House attack follows a hack at the U.S. military’s Central Command social media accounts in January.
In that security breach, attackers posted pro-Daesh messages along with contact information and addresses of military personnel.
