White House staffers targeted in email blackmail scheme from UAE

Dubai police have reportedly arrested several foreign hackers who targeted five White House staffers with an email blackmail scheme.

The Washington Post, citing the Arabic-language Al Bayan newspaper, said the hackers are three Africans and managed to break into the White House workers email accounts where they obtained highly classified information. The local news reports did not identify the hackers, who are between 24 and 26 years old, but noted they had been in the country for a few years. Police found a list of five million bank accounts, hacking software and several million dollars in assets in the hacker's control.

No information on exactly how the three men intended to blackmail the U.S. government workers was revealed.

The White House workers were not identified and the Washington Post said neither the local police nor the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi had responded to a request for additional information.