Could have been that Nigerian prince visiting Russia

Only authorized at a higher level?  You mean, only senior 90 year old ex commie Russians can write phishing viruses?  

No, this is horse manure. The Russian hacking expertise is a home grown, network of geeks hold up in their apartments when the snow is eight feet deep all winter.

BI: US intelligence officials have blamed Russia for hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, before the election."We assess that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized the recent election-focused data thefts and disclosures, based on the scope and sensitivity of the targets," the statement said.The statement said Russia "poses a major threat" to the US because of its "aggressive" and "advanced" cyber program.