A tweet I saw this morning asked:
If the DNC/RNC/campaigns were hacked, doesn’t that mean that Russia probably has all of our personal political info? @paix120
While obtaining the files gathered by the DNC, RNC, etc. on voters would require direct hacks, there’s an unfortunate impression that hacking emails requires a direct hack of an account.
Something along the lines of the hacker in War Games, only multiplied:
But if I am interested in compromising/embarrassing emails, why on earth would I go to that much trouble?
Consider the following network map as illustrative only:
Whether it is the DNC, RNC or some other group, you need only secure an appropriate location upstream and harvest their network traffic.
If you don’t have a privileged place on the appropriate network, you haven’t offered enough money.
If you represent a nation-state or multi-national corporation, have you considered purchasing one or more networks and/or ISPs?
One-off email hack tales distract from the larger issue that un-encrypted email is always insecure.
So, yes, if you are using unencrypted email then anyone and everyone has access to your email.
Without the necessity of hacking your email account.
PS: I can gather links on the well known story of assembling networks packets if you are really interested. It has been told at length and better than I can by others.