Reuters reported Monday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been successfully cracked down on as part of a major attack on suspected U.S. federal companies by Russian hackers.
Reuters The hackers, believed to be working for the Russian government, were quoted as saying by “those familiar with the matter” that they had successfully accessed internal communications within the DHS.
DHS spokeswoman Alexei Voldornist did not directly confirm the violation, but told The Hill that “the Department of Homeland Security is aware of reports of a breach” and “is currently investigating the matter.”
The report comes the next day Reuters first announced The Department of the Treasury and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Department of Commerce have also been violated as part of an attack on the support of a foreign government. The Washington Post attributed the violation to a Russian military hacking group known as the “Convenient Bear.”
In the incident, the hackers took advantage of software vulnerabilities from Solarwinds, an IT vendor used by several federal agencies, to join most US Fortune 500 companies.
Earlier on Monday, Voltornist issued a separate statement saying, “The Department of Homeland Security is aware of cyberbullying across the federal government and is working closely with our partners in the public and private sectors in response to the federal government.”
DHS’s Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) a Emergency order It told all federal agencies on Sunday night to immediately disconnect the systems that run Solar Winds products and to inform the CISA that the agencies had completed the process by noon on Monday.
“Tonight’s order is aimed at mitigating potential compromises within federal civil networks, and we urge our partners in the public and private sectors to evaluate exposure to this compromise and protect their networks against any exploitation,” CISA Director Brandon Wales said in a statement on Sunday.