{"id":17967,"date":"2020-12-18T03:35:33","date_gmt":"2020-12-18T08:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=17967"},"modified":"2020-12-18T03:35:33","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T08:35:33","slug":"us-cyber-attack-hack-of-government-agencies-and-companies-poses-grave-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2020\/12\/18\/us-cyber-attack-hack-of-government-agencies-and-companies-poses-grave-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"US cyber-attack: Hack of government agencies and companies poses &#8216;grave risk&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p><b class=\"css-14iz86j-BoldText e5tfeyi0\">US officials have warned that a sophisticated hacking campaign uncovered this week poses a &#8220;grave risk&#8221; to the government, critical infrastructure and the private sector.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The US Treasury and commerce departments were among those attacked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) said thwarting the attack would be &#8220;highly complex and challenging&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Many suspect the Russian government is responsible. It has denied the claims.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>In a statement on Thursday, Cisa said government agencies, critical infrastructure entities and private sector organisations had been targeted by what it called an &#8220;advanced persistent threat actor&#8221;, beginning in at least March 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The actor behind the hacks &#8220;demonstrated patience, operational security, and complex tradecraft in these intrusions&#8221;, it said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<div class=\"css-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi3\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"css-yidnqd-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/technology-55321643\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SolarWinds: Why the Sunburst hack matters<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"css-yidnqd-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/technology-55318815\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">More US government agencies hacked<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Cisa did not identify who was behind the attack; which agencies and organisations had been breached; or what information had been stolen or exposed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Meanwhile, US President-elect Joe Biden said he would make cyber-security a &#8220;top priority&#8221; of his administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>&#8220;We need to disrupt and deter our adversaries from undertaking significant cyber-attacks in the first place,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We will do that by, among other things, imposing substantial costs on those responsible for such malicious attacks, including in coordination with our allies and partners.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-mysbf6-ComponentWrapper-CrossheadComponentWrapper e1xue1i84\" data-component=\"crosshead-block\">\n<h2 class=\"css-qozapo-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\">What&#8217;s the background?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Several US government agencies are reported to have been attacked in the hacking campaign, which has been described as &#8220;significant and ongoing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Hackers are known to have at least monitored data within US departments including state, defence, homeland security, treasury and commerce, Reuters news agency reports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p><a class=\"css-yidnqd-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2020\/12\/17\/nuclear-agency-hacked-officials-inform-congress-447855\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration also have evidence that hackers accessed their networks<\/a>, Politico magazine reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Cisa said the perpetrators managed to breach computer networks using network management software made by the Texas-based IT company SolarWinds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Up to 18,000 SolarWinds Orion customers downloaded updates containing a back door that let hackers in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>All US federal civilian agencies were told to remove SolarWinds from their servers earlier this week as a result of the hack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>In its statement on Thursday, Cisa said it was investigating &#8220;evidence of additional access vectors, other than the SolarWinds Orion platform&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Tech giant Microsoft said it had identified more than 40 of its customers who were targeted in the cyber-attack, including government agencies, think tanks, non-governmental organisations and IT companies. About 80% of these were in the US, while others were in Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Spain, the UK, Israel and the UAE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The company&#8217;s president Brad Smith said the attack was &#8220;remarkable for its scope, sophistication and impact&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>It &#8220;unfortunately represents a broad and successful espionage-based assault on both the confidential information of the US government and the tech tools used by firms to protect them,&#8221; he wrote in a blog post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Cisa and the FBI have not publicly said who they believe to be behind the attacks, but private security companies and officials quoted in US media have pointed the finger at Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i83\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>In a statement shared on social media on Monday, the Russian embassy in the US said it &#8220;does not conduct offensive operations in the cyber domain&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-55358332\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">US officials have warned that a sophisticated hacking campaign uncovered this week poses a &#8220;grave risk&#8221; to the government, critical infrastructure and the private sector. The US Treasury and commerce departments were among those attacked. <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2020\/12\/18\/us-cyber-attack-hack-of-government-agencies-and-companies-poses-grave-risk\/\" title=\"US cyber-attack: Hack of government agencies and companies poses &#8216;grave risk&#8217;\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,3,6],"tags":[5056,7120,1172,2936,442],"class_list":{"0":"post-17967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-usa","10":"category-world","11":"tag-cyber-attack","12":"tag-cyber-security","13":"tag-fbi","14":"tag-hacking","15":"tag-russia","16":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17969,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17967\/revisions\/17969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}