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Security expert blames Russia for US government hacking
The incendiary warning was made by former security adviser to Donald Trump. American tech giant SolarWinds has confirmed that it was compromised by hackers believed to be linked to the Russian state.
SolarWinds is used by various government agencies and there are concerns that the Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security departments and the Pentagon will be affected according to Newsweek.
The attackers were able to insert malware into an update on Orion, an IT monitoring platform from SolarWinds.
According to SolarWinds, up to 18,000 of its customers could have been affected.
The malware was reportedly added to Orion software updates released between March and June of this year.
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“You have to assume that Russia reads the communications.” (Image: GETTY)
Tech giant SolarWinds was attacked by hackers (Image: GETTY)
FireEye, a cybersecurity company that was investigating a similar attack on its own systems, disclosed the assault.
A major investigation has been launched to find out which networks were compromised and what attackers may have done with their access.
Thomas P Bossert, a former national security adviser to Donald Trump, warned that the access could be used to falsify US government records.
Writing in the New York Times, he argued that President Trump is “about to leave behind a federal government” that has been “compromised” by outsiders.
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The attack has been widely attributed to Russian hackers. (Image: GETTY)
He urged Joe Biden to “take charge of this crisis” as soon as he takes office on January 20.
Referring to the incoming president, Mr. Bossert said: “You have to assume that Russia is reading communications on this matter, and assume that any government data or email could be falsified.
“In the networks that the Russians control, they have the power to destroy or alter data and impersonate legitimate people.
“Domestic and geopolitical tensions could escalate quite easily if they use their access for malicious influence and misinformation, both characteristics of Russian behavior.”
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Thomas P Bossert: former national security adviser to Donald Trump (Image: YOUTUBE / The Aspen Institute)
Bossert said Trump could leave behind a “compromised” federal government (Image: GETTY)
According to Bossert, the attackers “certainly” took over “hundreds” of the networks they attacked.
He argued that this could be used for “much more” than just spying, potentially allowing hackers to modify US government records.
In summary, the US government must assume that the Russian state “has control of all the networks it has penetrated.”
The Russian government has flatly denied the claim, made by Bossert and others, that it was behind the cyber attack.
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In a statement, he denied what he described as an “unfounded attempt by the US media to blame Russia for hacker attacks on US government agencies.”
SolarWinds was used by a wide range of US government agencies and private companies according to the “customers” section since removed from their official website.
This page was removed after the successful hack was revealed.
Clients included all branches of the US military, NASA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
US security services accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 presidential elections (Image: GETTY)
At least 425 Fortune 500 companies were also using SolarWinds products.
On Twitter, Bossert claimed that Russia had launched the attack while the United States was “distracted” by domestic politics.
He added: “It is no longer about SolarWinds. It hasn’t been in months.
“The Russians are in our networks at a very fragile moment.”
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