nuclear research centers affected? – Worst Hacker Attack in US History – Foreign Policy



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Hacker Alert at US Nuclear Research Centers and Security Authorities.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which manages the US military’s stockpiles of nuclear weapons, have evidence that hackers also accessed their networks during an extensive spy operation.

In total, at least half a dozen federal authorities are said to have been affected by the attack, which was first made public several days ago. Now, according to the US online portal “Politico”, it turns out that the three national nuclear laboratories in Sandia and Los Alamos (New Mexico) and in Richland (Washington), all of which belong to the energy department, have also been attacked.

There is talk of a “serious threat” and “critical infrastructure” and the “worst case of hacking in the history of the United States.” The attack began at least last March and may even continue for years.

The hackers are apparently Russian actors who acted on behalf of the Kremlin.

If this suspicion is confirmed, then-President Donald Trump (74) would have a serious foreign policy problem in his last weeks in office. His administration has previously been criticized for removing a White House cybersecurity adviser and downplaying Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and has so far made no public statements about the breach.

Noch-Präsident Donald Trump äußerte sich bislang nicht über den Hacker-Verdacht auf Amerikas Nuklearwaffen-LagerPhoto: REUTERS

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President Donald Trump has yet to comment on the suspected hackers at the US nuclear weapons warehouse.Photo: REUTERS

President-elect Joe Biden (78), who will inherit the difficult relationship between the United States and Russia, said against: He would make dealing with this violation from day one in the White House a “top priority.”

“We need to disrupt our adversaries and prevent them from launching major cyber attacks,” he said. “We will do this, among other things, by imposing significant costs on those responsible for such malicious attacks, also in coordination with our allies and partners. “

Biden continues: “There are a lot of things we don’t know yet. But what we know is very worrying. ”

Will den Hackerangriff von seinem ersten Tag im Weißen Haus an zur obersten Priorität machen: Der kommende Präsident der USA Joe BidenPhoto: REUTERS

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He wants the hacking attack to be a priority from his first day in the White House: the next president of the United States, Joe BidenPhoto: REUTERS

Officials at the Agency for Cyber ​​Security and Infrastructure (CISA) have yet to respond to media inquiries. Therefore, it was not clear what the agency meant by “serious threat” or “critical infrastructure.”

Homeland Security, the agency’s parent company, defines such infrastructure as “a vital asset to the United States or its economy,” a broad category that could include power plants and financial institutions.

The agency previously said that the perpetrators used SolarWinds, a Texas-based network management software to infiltrate computer networks. However, it was said on Thursday that the attackers could have used other methods as well. And: The software company Microsoft is also affected by its own information.

Over the weekend, CISA ordered all civil government agencies to remove SolarWinds from their servers. Cybersecurity authorities in the UK and Ireland have issued similar warnings.

Neither CISA nor the FBI have publicly said who they believe is responsible. When asked if Russia was behind the attack, a US official told the US news agency “AP”: “We believe it. We have not said it publicly yet because it is not 100% confirmed. ”

Another US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday, said the attack was serious and extremely damaging. “It appears that this is the worst case of piracy in the history of the United States,” the official said. “You have accepted everything. ”

According to security experts and former government officials, the perpetrators appear dedicated to espionage and intelligence gathering rather than destruction. Whether and what information was stolen from the three nuclear research sites in the United States is still unknown.

But if the suspicion is confirmed, it is clear that the attack was remarkably successful. From the cybersecurity authority it was said: The perpetrator (s) have shown “patience, operational security and complex craftsmanship.”

War er der Auftraggeber des Hackerangriffs? Russlands Präsident und Ex-KGB-Agent Wladimir PutinPhoto: AFP

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Was he the person behind the hacking attack? Russian President and Former KGB Agent Vladimir PutinPhoto: AFP

Thomas Bossert, a former Trump National Security adviser, wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times on Thursday that the United States should pretend the Russian government has taken control of the networks it has invaded. “The actual and perceived control over so many critical networks could easily be used to undermine public and consumer trust in data, written communications and services,” he wrote.

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Members of Congress feared that taxpayer personal information could be released because the IRS is part of the Treasury Department that uses SolarWinds software.

Tom Kellermann, head of cybersecurity strategy at software company VMware, told “AP”: Hackers are now “all-knowing about the operations” of the federal agencies they have penetrated. There is a legitimate concern that they may take advantage of destructive attacks within these agencies to respond to US countermeasures.

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