U.S. officials and experts have called for action in the wake of a devastating cyber attack targeting the federal government by national government hackers who may have leaked sensitive government data over the past several months.
“The allegation that our federal networks have been violated is serious and worrying,” said the head of the House Homeland Security Committee. Penny Thompson
Benny Gordon Thompson hits John Cudco as the next ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security Hilligan Valley: hopeless, content moderate to dominate technology policy by 2021 | Ransomware attacks pose 2021 challenges to Congress | Hackers threaten to disrupt COVID-19 vaccine supply chain Ransomware attacks pose 2021 challenges to Congress (D-Miss.) Told The Hill in an email statement. “Congress needs to understand what happened and what resources federal agencies need to protect their networks.”
Austin targeted Solar Winds, an IT vendor based in Cypriot Texas. According to information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, the hackers affected updates to its Orion software between March and June this year.
Reuters first reported that the hackers had successfully hacked the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
However, the attack could be even more devastating.
According to a post on the Solar Winds website that was removed Monday, the company’s clients include all five branches of the Army, Justice and State Departments, the National Security Agency, the Postal Service and 425 of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies.
The Washington Post reports that a Russian military intelligence unit, known as the “Cozy Bear,” was behind the attack on the Solar Winds. The group has previously been linked to attacks on the State Department and research groups on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. No federal agency has publicly confirmed that this group is responsible.
“While many details are not yet known, this attack underscores the importance of strong cyber security at all Internet agencies and prompt response to incidents,” said Senate Chamber of Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker
Roger Frederick Wicker FCC rejects Hawaii appeal for FCC national security threat position Hillicon Valley: Leading cybersecurity firm hacked in sophisticated nation-state attack | Senate confirms Trump FCC candidate amid Democratic pushback | BornHub bans unverified uploads, downloads content confirms Trump FCC candidate amid Senate Democratic pushback (R-Miss.) And Sense. John Dune
John Randolph DuneMembers of both sides applaud Supreme Court ruling Closing window for big corona virus deal ‘Congress’ ‘close’ to massive government finance deal (RSD) and Jerry Moran
Gerald (Jerry) Moranbick Banks are getting a big break in the pending whistleblower law. (R-Con.) In a joint statement on Monday, he described the trade sector’s attack.
“Cyber attacks by national governments such as Russia and China threaten our economy and national security. Our response must be quick and clear,” they added.
In the Solar Winds SEC filing, 33,000 customers reported a month-long breach, believing that only about 18,000 customers had been affected and that hackers had been able to access the company’s emails by exploiting Microsoft Office 365 tools. .
Microsoft released a blog post on Sunday night emphasizing that it had “not identified any Microsoft product or cloud service vulnerabilities” in response to the incident, but acknowledged that “this is a significant nation-state activity, aimed at both the public and private sectors.” ”
The attack came less than a week after the main cyber security team reported Fire, which had been hacked by a national government.
The company wrote in a separate blog post on Sunday that based on the initial investigation into the “ongoing” attacks, it was “conducted with the work of a highly skilled actor and significant operational security”.
As it fell, Capitol Hill turned its attention to the attack on Monday.
Thompson told The Hill that he had briefed the House Homeland Security Committee on DHS’s Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Organization (CISA), while the group’s newly appointed ranking member representative. John Cutco
John Michael Cutcohouse House Republicans, who did not sign the Texas case, tapped John Cutco as the next ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security Ransomware Attacks, presenting 2021 challenges to Congress (RN.Y.) called for a “coordinated and cohesive national strategy” to combat such attacks.
Chairman of the House Investigation Committee Adam Schiff
Hilligan Valley: Federal agency warns of hackers targeting online K-12 classes | Google | California seeks to join DOJ no-confidence motion against Senate approves security bill to establish cyber-jar status. (D-Caliph.) He summed up the attack as “catastrophic” and called it the deputy chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Mark Warner
Mark Robert WarnerHillicon Fence: Federal Alert Warns Hackers Are Targeting Online K-12 Classes | Google | California seeks to join DOJ no-confidence motion against Senate approves security bill to establish cyber-jar status (D-W.) Said in a statement that “we need to clarify what the consequences will be.”
“These recent attacks have threatened national security, created unacceptable risks to the security of Americans, and we must do everything we can to prevent them from happening in the future,” said a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Public Affairs Committee. Gary Peters
Gary Petersransmware attacks pose challenges to Congress 2021, why lawmakers are pressuring leaders to reach COVID-19 relief agreement as you think the referendum is not wrong (D-Mitch.) Told The Hill.
Sen. Ron Wheaton
Ronald (Ron) Lee Wyden Biden chooses Katherine Doe for best business position, challenges MSNBC’s Rule Sanders push, 200 stimulus checks confirm Trump FCC candidate Senate. (D-Ore.), A member of the Senate Investigative Committee, said he would press the federal government for more information on the incident.
“Our country has suffered a massive national security failure, which could happen for years,” Wyden told The Hill. “I fear the damage is more important than is currently known.”
The federal government has already begun taking action, with Reuters reporting that the National Security Council (NSC) convened an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the attack.
NSC spokesman John Uliot said in a tweet on Monday that the NSC, FBI, CISA and the intelligence community were working together to “coordinate a speedy and effective full government recovery and respond to the latest compromise.”
The CISA issued an emergency order on Sunday night to federal agencies to immediately disconnect from any Solar Wind systems by Monday afternoon.
But experts warned on Monday that more things would come to light around the incident.
Kierston Todd, who served as executive director of former President Obama’s Commission on National Cyber Security Promotion, told The Hill that “the country’s security has been compromised.”
“We do not know for what purpose they were specifically approached. I believe this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of who, what, and when they were violated,” said Todd, who currently serves as executive director of Cyber.
George W. Theresa Baton, the White House’s chief information officer during the Bush administration, said the attack was the worst a year later, in which Americans were pushed into their territory by IT managers moving online, and presidential administrations began the transition process between federal agencies.
“From one to ten, my gut tells me we’m approaching the age of nine,” said Baden, who currently serves as CEO of Cyber Advisory Board’s Fortalis Solutions, about the overall attack.
The incident came to light as the United States faced a vacuum of cyber security leadership following the ousting of top CIA officials by the Trump administration. The United States has been without a federal cybersecurity chief since lawmakers and Trump clashed over the re-establishment of a White House cyber jar following the removal of the status quo in 2018.
Todd pointed to the shooting by former CISA director Christopher Grepps President Trump
Donald Trump decides to change the name of the Cleveland baseball team: ‘Cancel culture at work’ Trump says White House staff should not be the first to get the corona virus vaccine in Michigan on Monday to close legislative office buildings due to ‘credible violent threats’., And Todd and Baton called on the president-elect to say the departure of three top officials would not “help”. Joe Biden
Atlanta Mayor rejects Biden cabinet offer as Michigan adviser Joe Biden rejects Assembly office building on Monday over ‘credible violence threats’ Biden tops Biden transport secretary: CNN To increase cyber security once in the office.
Schiff also called on Biden to explain the consequences of a major cyber attack on Russia, China and Iran as foreign hackers continue to accelerate their game.
“For a very long time, cyber attacks have been seen as relatively inexpensive for criminals; that needs to change,” Schiff said.