• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, March 31, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home National

Hackers Breach US Agencies; Homeland Security A Reported Target

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
12/15/20
in National
cyber security

DHS did not confirm the report of a cyber attack. Photo: Markus Spiske / Unsplash

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The US Department of Homeland Security was the third federal department to be targeted in a major cyberattack, US media reported Monday, a day after Washington revealed the hack which may have been coordinated by a foreign government.

The Washington Post cited unnamed officials who said that the DHS — which is in charge of protecting the country from attacks both online and off — had been added to a growing list of targets in the attack, including the Treasury and Commerce departments.

A statement from DHS Monday did not confirm the report, saying only that it was “aware of cyber breaches across the federal government and working closely with our partners in the public and private sector on the federal response.”

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is attached to the DHS, on Sunday said it had ordered federal agencies to immediately stop using SolarWinds Orion IT products following reports that hackers had used a recent update to gain access to internal communications. 

“We urge all our partners — in the public and private sectors — to assess their exposure to this compromise and to secure their networks,” said CISA Acting Director Brandon Wales.

SolarWinds over the weekend admitted that hackers had exploited a backdoor in an update of some of its software released between March and June.

The hacks are part of a wider campaign that also hit major cybersecurity firm FireEye, which said its own defenses had been breached by sophisticated attackers who stole tools used to test customers’ computer systems.

FireEye said it suspected the attack was state-sponsored, and warned it could have affected numerous high profile targets across the globe.

“This campaign may have begun as early as Spring 2020 and is currently ongoing,” FireEye said in a blog post.

Russia involved?

The content the hackers have sought to steal — and how successful they have been — is not known at this time. 

“We believe this is nation-state activity at significant scale, aimed at both the government and private sector,” said IT giant Microsoft, which is also investigating, in a blog post. 

While Microsoft refrained from naming a country, several US media pointed the finger at the Russian group “APT29”, also known as “Cozy Bear.” 

According to the Washington Post, the group is part of Moscow’s intelligence services, and hacked servers at the State Department and the White House during the Obama administration.

The Russian Embassy in the United States categorically denied the accusations in a statement on Facebook.

Both the public and private sectors must be increasingly on guard against such hacks, warned Hank Schless, senior manager at Lookout, a California-based mobile security company. 

“Adversarial nation-states have recognized the value in targeting both sectors, which means neither is safe from the types of attacks that have government resources behind them,” he said.

Matt Walmsley of Vectra, which provides cyberattack detection services from its base in California, agreed.

“Security teams need to drastically reduce the overall risk of a breach by gaining instant visibility and understanding of who and what is accessing data or changing configurations, regardless of how they are doing it, and from where,” he said.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
World

Russia Fighting for Its ‘Historical Lands:’ Putin

by Staff Writer
February 23, 2023
Soledar lies 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the city of Bakhmut, which Russia has been trying to seize for months
World

Fate of Ukraine’s Soledar Unclear as Wagner Claims Control

by Staff Writer
January 11, 2023
Russian passports
World

EU Won’t Recognize Russian Passports From Occupied Ukraine

by Staff Writer
November 10, 2022
Russia Today
World

Russian TV Host Apologizes for Calls to Burn Ukrainian Children

by Staff Writer
October 24, 2022
Arne Schoenbohm
World

German Cybersecurity Chief Sacked Over Alleged Russia Ties

by Staff Writer
October 18, 2022
Ukraine protest
World

Rape Used in Ukraine as a Russian ‘Military Strategy:’ UN

by Staff Writer
October 14, 2022
Next Post
A protest against China’s mistreatment of Uighur Muslims

Over 570,000 Uighurs Involved in China Cotton Coerced Labor: Report

Imran Khan

The Opposition Challenge in Pakistan

Recommended

Damage from a series of powerful storms and at least one tornado is seen on March 25, 2023, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi

After Tornado Kills 25, Mississippi Faces More Extreme Weather

March 26, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
participants of an artificial intelligence conference

How AI Could Upend the World Even More Than Electricity or the Internet

March 19, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
Heavily armed police inspect the area near a Jehovah's Witness church where several people have been killed in a shooting in Hamburg, northern Germany

Eight Dead in Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness Hall in Germany

March 10, 2023
Myanmar Rohingya refugees look on in a refugee camp in Teknaf, in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, on November 26, 2016

US Announces $26M in New Aid for Rohingya

March 8, 2023

Opinion

Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Top view of the US House of Representatives

‘Cringy Awards:’ Who Is the Most Embarrassing US House Representative?

February 13, 2023
Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post