[ad_1]
The attack is so serious that it led to a meeting of the National Security Council at the White House on Saturday, according to Reuters, who first reported on the breach. The United States Department of Commerce confirmed Sunday that he has been the victim of a data breach.
Hackers broke into NTIA’s office software, Microsoft’s Office 365, and emails from agency staff were monitored by hackers for months, sources told Reuters.
The department said in a statement to CNN: “We can confirm that there has been a breach in one of our offices.
“We have asked CISA and the FBI to investigate, and we cannot comment further at this time.
“CISA is providing technical assistance to affected entities as they work to identify and mitigate any potential compromises.”
John Ullyo, spokesman for the National Security Council, said: “The United States government is aware of these reports and we are taking all necessary steps to identify and remedy any possible problems related to this situation.”
The US intelligence community fears that hackers may have used a similar tool to break into other government agencies, and the hackers are believed to be working for Russia, people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
Two of the sources said the breaches are part of a campaign that includes hacking FireEye, a major U.S. cybersecurity company with the government and a commercial contractor.
READ MORE: More Zoom users than ever duped into downloading malware
“This is a much bigger story than a single agency,” a person familiar with the matter told the news agency. “This is a huge cyber espionage campaign targeting the US government and its interests.”
A spokesperson for the Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Security Agency said;
“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
People close to the matter told The Washington Post that the hackers worked for Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR.
The FBI and the US National Security Agency have been contacted for comment.
Microsoft has not responded to requests for comment.
[ad_2]
