Cybersecurity experts poke holes in DNC hack 'inside job' theory

There is a growing theory that the email hack of the DNC during the 2016 presidential election wasn't a hack at all, but an internal leak. But now cybersecurity experts are saying that assumption is unlikely to be true.

John Hultquist, Director of Intelligence Analysis at FireEye, a firm that provides forensic analysis and other cybersecurity services told the Hill, "The theory is flawed."

The theory in question is related to download speeds and was popularized after one blogger, Forensicator, concluded that due to the speed at which documents were downloaded, it could not have happened over the internet.

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But experts say this line of thinking overlooks that the files could have been copied multiple times. Several agencies like the FBI, CIA, and NSA also believe Moscow is behind the attacks.

"A hacker might have downloaded it to one computer, then shared it by USB to an air gapped [off the internet] network for translation, then copied by a different person for analysis, then brought a new USB to an entirely different air gapped computer to determine a strategy all before it was packaged for Guccifer 2.0 to leak," said Rich Barger, director of security research at Splunk.