Option 1) Americans in the CIA (Leaks and Political Meddling Branch) or the NSA (Department of Political Appointees) named these groups “Fancy Bear” and “Cozy Bear” based on an assumption that they were Russian, an attribution that was almost certainly encouraged for political reasons.
Option 2) The Russians said, “I know some great nicknames for our hacking groups. They will all be ‘Bear’ because we are Russian! The GRU will call theirs ‘Fancy Bear’, and the SVR will call theirs ‘Cozy Bear’.”
Somehow, neither explanation convinces me that Hillary lost because of Russian hacking. Of course I believe the Russians hacked Hillary’s server, and Podesto’s, and the DNC’s, but so did everyone else. This is a blame game and part of an inside-the-government and media effort to question the legitimacy of the president, now that we finally have a legitimate president.
Assange has said that hackers will often try to appear to be something they are not. In other words, if a hacker comes in from an IP or with names or intercepts that look Chinese or Russian or whatever, it’s a good chance it’s made to look that way especially if it is easy to detect.
No doubt Russians of some sort were snooping but likely many others were likewise. As I posted weeks ago, a total lie would be that no Russians of any sort attempted to hack into any USA network, etc.