Obama's Unclassified Emails were Hacked by Russians

Some of President Obama's unclassified emails were hacked by Russians last year in a breach of the White House's unclassified computer system, according to the New York Times.

The nature of the emails was not disclosed by officials. Hackers were able to obtain the information after accessing email archives belonging to people inside the White House. From those accounts, the hackers were able to reach emails sent and received by the president.

Officials said no classified networks were compromised and hackers did not collect classified information. White House Officials did not disclose the number of emails that were obtained.

The president's email account itself did not appear to be hacked.

The hack has raised a debate inside the White House about whether it's possible to protect a president's electronic presence.

In 2008, President Obama's campaign was hit by Chinese hackers.

A frequent email user, the president has a special smartphone. The list of those he can exchange emails with is highly restricted.

Officials said hackers, also, got deep into the State Department but did not gain access to anything classified.

The White House declined to provide explanations about how the breach was handled. The State Department has been more candid about what kind of systems were hit and how it has improved security.