A cyberattack by “Russian hackers” on US government resources, which was first reported in mid-December, affected at least 250 federal agents and businesses, the NYT reported, citing US intelligence sources. According to the publication, the recent series of hacks turned out to be larger than expected.
According to the latest estimates, this series of hacks has lasted since October 2019, and its goals are still not clear to the Americans. Experts interviewed by the publication suggested that Moscow in this way wants to demonstrate its capabilities and shake Washington’s confidence in the security of communications used by its federal departments.
NYT sources noted that Cyber Command and the NSA have deployed “early warning” sensors to foreign networks to detect impending attacks, but they have apparently gone out of order.
The Pentagon, the Treasury, the US Department of State, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, Trade, Energy and the National Agency for Nuclear Safety were attacked by hackers through SolarWinds software.