US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has pointed to Russia as the backbone of a massive hacking attack recently identified by major US government agencies. This is the first time the US administration has mentioned Russia in connection with the hacking case.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. [AFP=연합뉴스]
– According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 19th (local time) Minister Pompeo said in an interview with the radio’Mark Levin Shaw’ that “there have been considerable attempts to use third-party software aimed at the internal code of the US government system.”
“Now, there are signs of hacking attempts at private companies and other government agencies around the world.” “I can say quite clearly that Russia was involved in this move.”Said.
He did not mention specific information such as the affiliation of the hackers, but “government officials believe that the hackers may be related to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Agency (SVR).”
From the US Treasury and Commerce Department to the US Nuclear Security Administration
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![The White House judged the hacking to be at a serious level and held a National Security Conference (NSC) on the 12th to determine the damage situation. The photo shows the Ministry of Finance, one of the government agencies affected by this hack. [AP=연합뉴스]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202012/19/77e0bec3-c7cf-4dde-83e5-4e5809545c73.jpg?w=900&ssl=1)
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The White House judged the hacking to be at a serious level and held a National Security Conference (NSC) on the 12th to investigate the damage situation. The photo shows the Ministry of Finance, one of the government agencies affected by this hack. [AP=연합뉴스]
– Recently, in the United States, a large-scale hacking attack was confirmed from the US government agency to the IT company Microsoft (MS), causing an emergency.
Earlier on the 13th, the US White House said, “We are aware that a group that is supported by a foreign government has hacked into some organizations in the US Treasury and Commerce Department.”
The White House immediately convened a National Security Council (NSC) to respond. The victims identified so far are the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Commerce’s Communications Agency (NTIA), as well as the State Department, Homeland Security, Energy, and National Institutes of Health. In addition It is reported that there have been attempts to hack into the nuclear security bureau computer network that manages the US nuclear weapons stockpile.
MS “Hacking damage is spreading outside the US”
– On the 17th, four days later, Microsoft announced that it had been compromised by a hacking attack. Microsoft said that the hacking damage is spreading outside the US.
![Microsoft Corporation (MS) also announced on the 17th that the computer network was breached by a hacker attack. Hackers broke through the security net and used Office 365, Microsoft's office software, to access and look into employees' emails. [로이터=연합뉴스]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202012/19/dbfcc59e-79f3-44aa-a251-1ea48dbc0cf9.jpg?w=900&ssl=1)
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Microsoft Corporation (MS) also announced on the 17th that the computer network was breached by a hacker attack. Hackers broke through the security net and used Office 365, Microsoft’s office software, to access and look into employees’ emails. [로이터=연합뉴스]
– On that day, MS President Brad Smith told The Post in an interview “This hack damaged 40 MS customers, of which 80% came from the United States.”As the victims, they selected seven countries, including Belgium, the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Spain, and the UAE.
Hackers break through security network and monitor email through MS
– previously Local media such as Reuters pointed out APT29, a hacker group affiliated with SVR, as the hacker for this attack. The group also hacked the White House and the State Department during the Obama administration.
According to reports, hackers hacked into the software’Orion’ update program of a network management company called’Solarwinds’ and broke through the security network of government agencies and Microsoft. After that, they stole the emails of employees for months to steal information by accessing Microsoft’s Office 365, which the agencies use as office software. Hackers’ infiltration began last March, but it is known that signs of hacking began last summer.
SolarWinds is predicting that the scale of damage will increase as it manages the network of state governments, US government agencies such as the presidential office, the National Security Agency, five branches of the military, and private companies such as MS.
Currently, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Administration (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are commissioned by the US Department of Commerce to investigate hacking. CISA has issued a hacking risk alert to private and major infrastructure organizations as well as US government agencies. He said, “We are checking other hacking channels other than Orion, and don’t worry about the latest version of Orion.”
Reporter Lee Min-jung [email protected]
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