A widespread cyber hack compromising federal government systems and thousands of public and private networks is “likely Russian in origin” and believed to be "an intelligence gathering effort,” according to a joint statement from federal national security agencies. The Cyber Unified Coordination Group – which includes the FBI, National Security Agency, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security.
The US government has, for the first time, attributed the SolarWinds cyber-espionage attacks to Russia, and clarified that fewer agencies have been affected than some first thought.
A lengthy joint statement from the FBI, NSA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) claimed the attack was primarily an intelligence-gathering operation, “likely Russian in origin.”
While those in the cybersecurity community have always been fairly certain that the attack was indeed one focused on data theft, this confirmation could be viewed as an attempt to silence conspiracy theorists who have tried to tie it to debunked accusations of election fraud in November.
US intelligence confirms actor likely Russian in origin behind the SolarWinds hacking campaign
The operation appears to be an intelligence gathering effort, rather than an act of cyber warfare, agencies say
US intelligence agencies believe an actor likely Russian in origin was behind the hacking campaign
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