U.S. intelligence and security agencies have warned that the cyber-attack on government and companies announced over the weekend was “ongoing,” as Washington stepped in to confirm the extent of the damage.
The FBI, the National Directorate of Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement that they formed a task force to respond to the sophisticated attack, which they described as a “significant and ongoing cyber security operation.”
“This is an evolving situation, and as we continue to work to understand the full extent of this campaign, we know that this compromise has affected the federal government’s network.”
Cyber security experts are trying to determine the extent of the damage caused by the attack, which lasted for months until a cyber security company called Fire, which was the victim of a hacking operation, was discovered.
In March, hackers began introducing malware into software updates that IT company Solarwinds sent to public and private sector customers who use its Orion software to operate their networks.
Firerie, Solarwinds and some U.S. officials have blamed “nation-state” hackers for the breach. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in response to a question about the hack on Monday, presented Russia alone, saying that the U.S. There have been “consistent” efforts by Moscow to infiltrate government and private sector networks.
Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal also turned his attention to Russia on Wednesday after he and other members of Congress received a classified briefing from intelligence officials about the hack.
“I was shocked by today’s classified briefing on Russia’s cyber attack, in fact terrified,” Mr Blumenthal wrote on Twitter. “Americans deserve to know what is happening. Declare what is known and unknown. “
White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien cut short Tuesday’s return to Washington to address the situation in Europe.
Security experts warned that the duration and sophistication of the attack meant that it was impossible to ascertain the full extent of the damage.
Theresa Peton, a former White House chief information officer and chief executive of cybersecurity consultancy Fortalis Solutions, said the hack poses a “significant challenge” to the incoming Biden administration as officials consider how much data was stolen. Information for
Experts believe that the U.S. Millions of U.S. government For federal government employees, the U.S. has been accused of infiltrating a government agency that contains employee data, including sensitive data, along with security clearances. The hack is one of the most sophisticated attacks on the government.
Solarwinds said it believes it has downloaded “less than 18,000” infected software updates from its customers.
Earlier this week, Microsoft said that the hackers behind the recent attacks were able to disguise themselves as other users in the network so they could gain access to highly secure accounts.
But Solarwinds has suggested that the breaches they’ve committed rely on manual, customized attacks – meaning hackers haven’t compromised with all the people they’ve uncovered. FireEye said Wednesday it has identified a kill switch that could turn attackers into hiding inside a network.
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