Name: US agencies investigating hacking of government networks | CNN Politics
Brand: cnn.com
SKU: cnn-com-457
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

US agencies investigating hacking of government networks | CNN Politics

preview

By and , CNNLink Copied!Ad Feedback&nbsp;—&nbsp;The US Commerce Department confirmed Sunday it has been the victim of a data breach in an attack that is believed to be linked to Russia.“We can confirm there has been a breach in one of our bureaus,” the Commerce Department said in a statement to CNN. “We have asked CISA and the FBI to investigate, and we cannot comment further at this time.”The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also confirmed the data security incident, telling CNN in a statement, “We have been working closely with our agency partners 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,” the statement continued.Reuters was on the data breach.CISA issued a directive late Sunday that tech company SolarWinds was compromised and it posed “unacceptable risks to the security of federal networks,” said CISA acting Director Brandon Wales.SolarWinds Orion products are used by a number of federal civilian agencies for network management and CISA is urging the agencies to review their networks for any possible signs of a data breach. This is only the fifth emergency directive issued since 2015, when CISA was created by Congress in the Cybersecurity Act.SolarWinds said in a statement Sunday night that the breach of their system was “was likely conducted by an outside nation state and intended to be a narrow, extremely targeted, and manually executed attack, as opposed to a broad, system-wide attack.”The Washington Post that Russian government hackers targeted Commerce as well as the Treasury Department and other government agencies, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The paper reported the FBI is investigating and that the same Russia-linked group breached the elite cybersecurity firm FireEye, which just last week disclosed an attack compromising the so-called “Red Team” tools it uses to protect cybersecurity clients, including government customers.the Russian-affiliated group, known as APT29, as the suspected culprit behind the FireEye breach, citing a person familiar with the matter.“It’s all related,” said a source familiar with the attacks on both FireEye and those reported Sunday. Russia has maintained a steady, aggressive cyber campaign against both the US public and private sectors.“These sorts of attacks leveraging trusted relationships are extraordinarily difficult to detect and defend against in real-time,” the person said, adding that while the Commerce and Treasury Departments are the victims that have so far been identified, “there will no doubt be more.”Last week, the National Security Agency published an advisory warning that Russian state-sponsored actors were accessing data on protected systems and called for various government networks, including the Defense Department’s, to be patched immediately.The Treasury Department, the National Security Council, the FBI, National Security Agency and US Cyber Command did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.This story has been updated with additional reporting.CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.Ad FeedbackAd FeedbackAd Feedback

By and , CNNLink Copied!Ad Feedback&nbsp;—&nbsp;The US Commerce Department confirmed Sunday it has been the victim of a data breach in an attack that is believed to be linked to Russia.“We can confirm there has been a breach in one of our bureaus,” the Commerce Department said in a statement to CNN. “We have asked CISA and the FBI to investigate, and we cannot comment further at this time.”The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also confirmed the data security incident, telling CNN in a statement, “We have been working closely with our agency...

public

Brian Fung is a technology reporter who covers the intersection of business and policy. A native of Washington, D.C., Brian spent almost six years at The Washington Post, where he wrote extensively about the media industry's struggle to adapt to the Internet; the battle over net neutrality; and the rise of novel innovations such as self-driving cars. Prior to The Post, Brian served numerous roles at Atlantic Media, where he was the technology correspondent at National Journal and an associate editor at The Atlantic.

Brian Fung

Alex Marquardt is an award-winning Senior National Security Correspondent based in the network's Washington bureau, focusing on national security issues.  Since rejoining the network in May 2017, he has helped lead the network's domestic and international breaking news coverage on a wide range of stories, in DC and beyond.

https://www.cnn.com/profiles/alex-marquardt

Alex Marquardt

It’s our job to #GoThere & tell the most difficult stories. For breaking news, follow  @CNNBRK  and download our app http://cnn.com/apps

US agencies investigating hacking of government networks | CNN Politics

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS