Hacker posts personal information of US Democrats

US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Saturday said she had received many "obscene and sick" calls and text messages after a hacker released the personal and official information of hundreds of fellow Democratic lawmakers and aides.

A hacker by the name of Guccifer 2.0 released the emails and personal phone numbers of Democratic members on Friday, allegedly from a hack on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the fundraising and campaign wing of Democrats in the House.

Pelosi said she would change her phone number and advised other Democrats to do the same.

"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 Democrats in a letter.

Democrats and US intelligence officials have linked Guccifer 2.0 to Russia, but the FBI, which is investigating, has still not blamed Moscow. Russia denies it is behind the hacks, which Democrats say were designed to interfere with the upcoming US presidential election and boost support for Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Latest in series of hack attacks

Friday's information dump comes after the same hacker released emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that showed staffers actively supported Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton against her one-time rival, Bernie Sanders.

The revelation that the DNC was not being neutral led to the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

John Ramsey, the House's chief information security officer, sent a memo to lawmakers and aides notifying them that "nearly every" House Democrat and "an assorted number of Republicans" had their email addresses and phone numbers released.

He advised aides and lawmakers to change their passwords on all accounts and possibly open new email accounts.

"Along with the Excel file, 'Guccifer 2.0' uploaded documents that included the account names and passwords for an assortment of subscription services used by the DCCC. Initial analysis identifies some members' home addresses, along with their spouse's name, marital status, and religion," the memo said.

cw/cmk (AP, Reuters)