TLTP
\nWASHINGTON
\nRussia was \u201cpretty clearly\u201d behind a devastating cyberattack on several US government agencies that also hit targets worldwide, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
\nMicrosoft said that it had notified more than 40 customers hit by the malware, which security experts say could allow attackers unfettered network access to key government systems and electric power grids and other utilities.
\n\u201cThere was a significant effort to use a piece of third-party software to essentially embed code inside of US government systems,\u201d Pompeo told The Mark Levin Show on Friday.
\n\u201cThis was a very significant effort, and I think it\u2019s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity.\u201d
\nPompeo is the highest-ranking official in President Donald Trump\u2019s administration to suggest Russian involvement in the attack, with the president himself remaining silent on the issue so far.
\nMicrosoft president Brad Smith said roughly 80 percent of the affected customers were located in the United States.
\nThe US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said government agencies, critical infrastructure entities, and private sector organisations had been targeted by what it called an \u201cadvanced persistent threat actor\u201d.
\nCISA did not identify who was behind the malware attack, but private security companies pointed a finger at hackers linked to the Russian government.
\nPompeo had also suggested Moscow\u2019s involvement on Monday, saying the Russian government had made repeated attempts to breach US government networks.
\nPresident-elect Joe Biden expressed \u201cgreat concern\u201d over the computer breach while Republican Senator Mitt Romney blamed Russia and slammed what he called \u201cinexcusable silence\u201d from the White House.
\nRomney likened the cyberattack to a situation in which \u201cRussian bombers have been repeatedly flying undetected over our entire country\u201d.
\nCISA said the computer intrusions began at least as early as March this year, and the actor behind them had \u201cdemonstrated patience, operational security and complex tradecraft\u201d.
\n\u201cThis threat poses a grave risk,\u201d CISA said on Thursday, adding that it \u201cexpects that removing this threat actor from compromised environments will be highly complex and challenging for organisations\u201d.
\nHackers reportedly installed malware on software used by the US Treasury Department and the Commerce Department, allowing them to view internal email traffic.
\nThe Department of Energy, which manages the country\u2019s nuclear arsenal, confirmed it had also been hit by the malware but had disconnected affected systems from its network.
\n\u201cAt this point, the investigation has found that the malware has been isolated to business networks only, and has not impacted the mission essential national security functions of the department, including the National Nuclear Security Administration,\u201d agency spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said.
\nRussia has denied involvement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TLTP WASHINGTON Russia was \u201cpretty clearly\u201d behind a devastating cyberattack on several US government agencies that also hit targets worldwide, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Microsoft said that it had notified more than 40 customers hit by the malware, which security experts say could allow attackers unfettered network access to key government systems and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149619,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n