Exclusive: U.S. Treasury breached by hackers backed by foreign government - sources

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TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DECEMBER 13, 20201:51 PMUPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Exclusive: U.S. Treasury breached by hackers backed by foreign government - sources

By Christopher Bing

2 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hackers backed by a foreign government have been monitoring internal email traffic at the U.S. Treasury Department and an agency that decides internet and telecommunications policy, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

 

 

FILE PHOTO: A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration

“The United States government is aware of these reports and we are taking all necessary steps to identify and remedy any possible issues related to this situation,” said National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot.

There is concern within the U.S. intelligence community that the hackers who targeted the Treasury Department and the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration used a similar tool to break into other government agencies, according to three people briefed on the matter. The people did not say which other agencies.

The hack is so serious it led to a National Security Council meeting at the White House on Saturday, said one of the people familiar with the matter.

 

The hack involves the NTIA’s office software, Microsoft’s Office 365. Staff emails at the agency were monitored by the hackers for months, sources said.

A Microsoft spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The hackers are “highly sophisticated” and have been able to trick the Microsoft platform’s authentication controls, according to a person familiar with the incident, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the press.

 

“This is a nation state,” said a different person briefed on the matter. “We just don’t know which one yet.”

The full scope of the hack is unclear. The investigation is still its early stages and involves a range of federal agencies, including the FBI, according to the three people familiar with the matter.

The FBI, Homeland Security Department’s cybersecurity division, known as CISA, and U.S. National Security Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

[Theseus]

How much of that foreign government is actually the US Government Intelligence organizations? Since they are aware of the situation.

 

People ignored the GA hack back in 2017.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Theseus