[ad_1]
A joint statement from the FBI, the National Intelligence Directorate, the National Security Agency and the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) sets out their findings on what experts call the United States’ most devastating computer security breach in many years.
The hackers hacked into the systems through software from Texas-based technology company SolarWinds. According to cybersecurity experts, the impact of the attack can be very widespread and can take several months to figure out.
The intelligence investigation “shows that the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor, likely of Russian descent, is responsible for most or all of the ongoing cyber threats recently detected to government and non-government networks.”
Trump, who avoided criticizing Moscow for four years of his presidency, has refused to blame Russia for the SolarWinds cyberattack.
“Russia, Russia, Russia is the first thing that is sung when something happens,” Trump wrote on Twitter in December about the attack. He also hinted that China may be responsible for the cyber attack.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and then-Attorney General William Barr also previously indicted Moscow.
According to CISA, the attack was carried out through SolarWinds’ Orion software, which is widely used on public and private sector computers around the world.
About 18 thousand. SolarWinds’ public and private customers are vulnerable, the intelligence said in a statement. However, he claims that far fewer of them have experienced “increased activity in their systems.”
So far, researchers have found that fewer than 10 US government agencies are affected. Their names are not mentioned in the statement, but some of these agencies have admitted to being attacked. These include the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The hack, which began last year, only came to light in December when it was announced by private security consultants.
Concerns have been raised that reports of cyberattacks may have uncovered the government’s biggest secrets.
All three agencies said they believed the cyber attack was “and remains an effort to gather intelligence” rather than attempts to steal corporate secrets or damage IT systems.
“This is a serious threat that will require long-term effort and dedication,” the statement said.
The wording that the attack was “probably” organized by Russia was criticized by an influential senator, whom US intelligence reported on the robbery in December.
“It is regrettable that the administration took more than three weeks … to report a timid indictment following reports of such a significant intrusion,” said Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “I hope we see more clearly.”
“We need to make it clear to Russia that any misuse of damaged networks to destroy or damage is unacceptable and will result in a correspondingly strong response,” he said.
[ad_2]
