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State-sponsored hackers have been monitoring emails at the US Treasury Department and another US federal agency for months, according to the Reuters news agency.
The US intelligence community is reportedly concerned that hackers who targeted the Treasury and a Commerce Department agency may have been spying on other agencies as well.
People familiar with the matter cited by The Washington Post claimed that the hackers were believed to be working for Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR.
Officials are said to believe the SVR, which is based in Moscow, was behind the attacks.
“This is a much bigger story than a single agency,” a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. “This is a huge cyber espionage campaign targeting the US government and its interests.”
The incident led to a meeting of the National Security Council at the White House on Saturday, Reuters added.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) has confirmed the violation, stating, “We have been working closely with our partner agencies regarding recently discovered activity on government networks.
“CISA is providing technical assistance to affected entities as they work to identify and mitigate any potential compromises,” he added.
Sources said emails from Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) staff were monitored for months after hackers broke into Microsoft’s Office 365.
“Highly sophisticated” hackers were able to fool Microsoft’s authentication controls, a person familiar with the incident told Reuters who requested anonymity.
Microsoft has not responded to requests for comment.
“The United States government is aware of these reports and we are taking all necessary steps to identify and remedy any potential problems related to this situation,” said National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot.
The Post had previously linked the SVR to a successful attack on cyber security company FireEye.
