Hackers have invaded the networks of the United States Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration, the body responsible for the country's nuclear arsenal. According to the New York Times, this is one of the largest and most sophisticated computer attacks on the United States government during the past five years.
The attack started in March when hackers reportedly took advantage of the updated surveillance programs developed by SolarWinds, used by thousands of companies and government departments around the world.
"This is an evolving situation, but we will continue to work to take action against this campaign even though we know that the federal government's networks have been affected, ”says a joint statement from the FBI (federal police); the national intelligence service and the cybersecurity agency (Cisa), which depends on the Internal Security Directorate (DHS). "
The cybersecurity and infrastructure agency (CISA) said that these intrusions had hit government agencies and "vital infrastructure" in a sophisticated attack that was difficult to detect and reverse. CISA did not disclose which agencies or infrastructures were selected or what information was extracted after the attack, which it had already admitted may have started in March.
There are no details yet on how the systems were affected, nor is it known what types of information that could involve US nuclear weapons were in the hands of hackers. However, Energy Department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said in a statement that there is no risk to national security.
White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brein interrupted a trip to the Middle East and Europe to get involved in Washington in measures to be taken against computer attacks.
"For the time being, the investigation found that the malware only reached networks, without affecting the department's essential national security mission," said Hynes.
The American press has already accused the Russian group “APT29”, known as “Cozy Bear”. According to the Washington Post, the group is part of Moscow's intelligence services and has already carried out attacks against official United States departments during the Barack Obama administration.
However, the President-elect Joe Biden commented that "there is a lot that we still don't know, but what we know is a major concern". "I instructed my team to seek as much as possible about this breach," added Biden, who praised "career civil servants who work 24 hours a day to respond to this attack."
