The US Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the country’s nuclear stockpile, said that the malware was isolated to business networks and didn’t affect national security functions.
Nonetheless, the effect of Thursday’s revelations was confirmation that no single person or agency including the highest reaches of the US government is certain of exactly what the hackers had infiltrated, let alone the full extent of what was taken. A Kremlin official has denied the allegations.
President-elect Joe Biden took time out of his day to issue a statement: “I want to be clear: my administration will make cybersecurity a top priority at every level of government – and we will make dealing with this breach a top priority from the moment we take office.”