U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves after talking about refugee programs for Afghans who helped the United States during a briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC, USA on August 2 of 2021.
Brendan Smialowski | Reuters
The U.S. State Department was hit by a cyberattack and notifications of a potentially serious offense were made by the Department of Defense’s Cyber Command, a Fox News reporter said Saturday.
A knowledgeable source told Reuters that the State Department has not experienced significant disruptions and has not prevented its operations in any way.
Fox News reported that the rape is believed to have occurred weeks ago. It’s unclear when it was first discovered, according to the reporter’s tweet thread. It is also unclear the extent of the default and whether or not there is a continuing risk to the operations.
The department’s continued work to evacuate Americans and allied refugees to Afghanistan has not been affected by the cyberattack, the journalist said, citing an anonymous source.
A State Department spokesman told CNBC on Saturday that the department “takes its responsibility seriously to safeguard its information and takes ongoing measures to ensure the protection of information.”
“For security reasons, we are not in a position at this time to discuss the nature or scope of the alleged cybersecurity incidents,” the spokesman said.