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WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. government agencies and private companies rushed Monday to secure their computer networks following the disclosure of a sophisticated and long-running cyber-espionage intrusion suspected of being carried out by Russian hackers.
The full extent of the damage is not yet clear. But the potential threat was significant enough that the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity unit directed all federal agencies to remove compromised network management software and thousands of companies were expected to do the same.
What was striking about the operation was its potential scope as well as the manner in which the perpetrators managed to pierce cyber defenses and gain access to email and internal files at the Treasury and Commerce departments and potentially elsewhere.
US agencies, companies secure networks after huge cyber-espionage intrusion: We still have a lot of work to do capitalgazette.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from capitalgazette.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Large-scale hack sends US government agencies scrambling to secure data
By Ben Fox and Frank Bajak
Published
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. government agencies and private companies rushed Monday to secure their computer networks following the disclosure of a sophisticated and long-running cyber-espionage intrusion that experts said almost certainly was carried out by a foreign state.
It was not yet clear who was responsible for the intrusion, though it was reportedly conducted by Russia, and the extent of the damage is not yet known. The potential threat was significant enough that the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity unit directed all federal agencies to remove compromised network management software and thousands of companies were expected to do the same.
Explainer: How bad is the hack that targeted US agencies?
by Matt O Brien And Frank Bajak, The Associated Press
Posted Dec 14, 2020 3:30 pm EDT
Last Updated Dec 14, 2020 at 3:44 pm EDT
Governments and major corporations worldwide are scrambling to see if they, too, were victims of a global cyberespionage campaign that penetrated multiple U.S. government agencies and involved a common software product used by thousands of organizations.
Russia, the prime suspect, denies involvement. Cybersecurity investigators said the hack’s impact goes beyond the affected U.S. agencies, which include the Treasury and Commerce departments, though they haven’t disclosed which companies or what other governments were targeted.