BRIT spies alerted the CIA about Russian hacking during the US presidential race after thwarting a similar attack targeting the 2015 general election, a report found.
US intelligence officials concluded Brits were the first to raise the alarm about Moscow hacking into Democratic emails in a report released on Friday.
One cyber expert told the New York Times: “The British picked it up, and we may have had it at about the same time.”
A group of Russian hackers, known as Fancy Bears, reportedly tried to disrupt the general election in 2015.
They planned to target every Whitehall server, including the Home Office and Ministry of Defence, plus every major TV broadcaster, before being thwarted by GCHQ.
Friday's US intelligence report found Vladimir Putin "ordered" a campaign of hacking to influence the US election and boost Donald Trump's chances.
It also warned Moscow will try to manipulate the elections of US allies over the coming months.
A declassified version was released today after Trump and top lawmakers were briefed from the full report.
Intelligence officials stated Russia directed the "hacking and media manipulation" to undermine Hillary Clinton after Putin developed a "preference" for Trump.
"We assess Russian President Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election," said the report from the Director of National Intelligence.
"Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency.
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"We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump."
The report, which was commissioned by President Barack Obama, stated that Russia wanted to help Trump's chances by discrediting Clinton.
It said Moscow used a variety of tactics in a bid to sway the outcome.
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