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NEW YORK (Dagbladet): The institutions of the United States government have been the target of a massive attack by hackers since March. Now Reuters reports that tech giant Microsoft will also be among those affected by the widespread attack. The US Department of Defense and the FBI are investigating the situation.
Microsoft has yet to comment on the information.
US authorities confirm what is likely to be one of the most sophisticated attacks in several years. It must also have taken place for nine months before being discovered.
– successful
“This could be the most successful attack in history,” cybersecurity expert Dmitri Alperovitch told the Associated Press.
Among other things, hackers broke into the email system of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce. The congress is scheduled to have a closed-door briefing on Friday on the situation.
Revealed Twitter password
The US Department of Energy claims that it has proof that hackers broke into its network as part of the campaign. Politico reports that the National Nuclear Security Administration, which is responsible for America’s nuclear weapons, has also been affected. However, the hackers should only have managed to break into the business network and not have had the opportunity to threaten national security.
– Abdicated
Outgoing US President Donald Trump has been completely silent on the attack in recent days. His Twitter account has only largely repeated unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud and that his election was stolen.
Trump brought his administration together for a meeting at the White House on Wednesday when news of the cyber attack first broke. But at the government meeting, there were no representatives from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Justice. Neither the director of national intelligence nor the CIA were present, according to CNN.
– Wrote a political suicide note
Since then, Trump has also not made any statements.
“Just as he has largely ignored the latest wave of corona cases, Trump appears to have abdicated responsibility in his final weeks in the White House,” CNN wrote.
They note, among other things, that no intelligence briefing has been on their public agenda since October, despite the White House asserting that it is regularly informed. A Trump employee reports to the television station that Trump was briefed on the hack on Thursday.
– I must say something
Hackers linked to the Russian authorities are suspected of being behind the attack, although this has not been officially confirmed.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney has long been a vocal critic of Trump. He thinks it is “shocking” that Trump did not respond.
– I think the White House should say something aggressive about what happened. It’s almost as if he had a Russian bomber, which flew across the country undetected, Romney told reporters.
– We cannot be friends with Vladimir Putin and at the same time let him carry out these cyberattacks against the United States. In fact, it is a declaration of war by Russia against the United States and we must take it seriously, says Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.
Called traitor
New shades
Other Republicans say it is problematic that Trump remains silent.
“Information is still being collected, so I ask people to be careful when drawing conclusions or making statements before everything is in place,” the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Marco Rubio, told CNN.
However, incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden promises a much harsher tone for those trying to attack America.
– In principle, we must prevent and deter our opponents from carrying out major cyberattacks. We will do this by, among other things, imposing significant costs on those responsible for such malicious attacks, also in coordination with our allies and partners, incoming Democrats President Joe Biden said Thursday, according to the AP.
At the same time, he stressed that much is not yet clear about the attacks.
– But we know it’s a big concern, says Biden.
Unpleasant
The situation is undoubtedly uncomfortable for Trump.
US intelligence concluded that Russia intervened and tried to help Trump get elected president of the United States in 2016. Since then, Trump has repeatedly been very reluctant to stand up to Putin.
Neighbors protest: not wanted
Among other things, Trump was unable to confront Putin with information from American intelligence earlier this year that Russia had established a premium for shooting American soldiers in Afghanistan.
When several US soldiers were injured in Syria after what the Pentagon described as “deliberately provocative and aggressive behavior” by Russian forces, there was no reaction from Trump either.
In October, the EU and Britain imposed heavy sanctions on six Russians close to Putin for the poisoning of opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Trump did nothing.
Former Trump security adviser John Bolton claimed in his book that Trump privately complained about sanctions and other punitive measures against Russia.
