Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

What We Think Know About suspected Russia's Latest Alleged Hack Of The U.S. Government

What We Think Know About suspected Russia's Latest Alleged Hack Of The U.S. Government

The list of affected agencies is growing by the day. The full extent of the damage is still not clear, and U.S. authorities have provided few details.
Russian government hackers are believed to be responsible for infiltrating computer systems at multiple U.S. agencies in recent months, including the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Treasury, according to government agencies and media reports. Russia has denied the accusations.

The hack hinged on a vulnerability on a software monitoring product from SolarWinds, a company based in Austin, Texas. The company works widely with the federal government and hundreds of large U.S. companies. Many use SolarWinds' Orion software to monitor their computer networks.

SolarWinds has some 300,000 customers, but says "fewer than 18,000" installed the version of its Orion products earlier this year that now appear to have been compromised.

So far, the list of affected U.S. government entities includes: The Commerce Department; Department of Homeland Security; the Pentagon; the Treasury Department; the U.S. Postal Service; and the National Institutes of Health.

The incident is the latest in what has become a long list of suspected Russian electronic incursions into other nations – particularly the U.S. – under President Vladimir Putin. Multiple countries say Russia was previously found to have used hackers, bots and other means in attempts to influence elections in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Many U.S. national security agencies made major efforts to prevent Russia from interfering in this year's election. But those same agencies seem to have been blindsided by news that hackers — suspected to be Russia's foreign intelligence service, the SVR — were digging around inside U.S. government systems, possibly since the spring.

"It's as if you wake up one morning and suddenly realize that a burglar has been going in and out of your house for the last six months," said Glenn Gerstall, who was the National Security Agency's general counsel from 2015 to 2020.

Describing some of the detective work that's now taking place, he added, "You'd have to go back and look at every room to see what was taken, what might have been touched. And of course, that's just a horrifying thought."

The intruders were very careful to cover their tracks, Gerstall said.

"You couldn't tell that they came in, you couldn't tell that they left the back door open. You couldn't even tell necessarily when they came in, took a look around and when they left."

To carry out the attack, hackers exploited the supply chain that SolarWinds uses to distribute software updates. The company says it has proof that when it sent updates to customers between March and June 2020, the updates to the Orion products also included malware that gave hackers access.

Microsoft has now taken control of the domain name that hackers used to communicate with systems that were compromised by the Orion update, according to security expert Brian Krebs. The company's analysis, he adds, should help reveal the scope of the affected companies and agencies.

So far, some U.S. government departments and agencies have acknowledged they are investigating the breaches, but have provided few details. The White House has been silent about the suspected Russian hack.

"This SolarWinds hack is very problematic, very troublesome, because it's not at all clear exactly how we should respond," Gerstall said. Part of the problem, he added, is that it's not clear what the hackers did after gaining access.

"This is not a question of someone manipulating software to open dams or turn off electric grids," Gerstall said. "It's not even clear that this is necessarily an attack designed to steal intellectual property the way China, for example, has stolen everything from patents for solar panels to the blueprints for fighter jets."

The intrusion could simply be a case of espionage, he said, of one government trying to understand what their adversary is doing.

Here's what key players are saying about the case:

SolarWinds: The company says, "We have been advised that this incident was likely the result of a highly sophisticated, targeted, and manual supply chain attack by an outside nation state, but we have not independently verified the identity of the attacker."

In an SEC filing, the company says it is cooperating with the FBI, the U.S. intelligence community and other agencies to investigate the breach.

SolarWinds says it was alerted to an "attack vector" that targeted its emails and other office productivity tools. The company adds that it uses Microsoft Office 365 for its office tools.

SolarWinds says it's working with Microsoft to determine if any customer data was exfiltrated, but it adds that so far, they have not found signs of stolen data.

The company says customers affected by the vulnerability should upgrade to the latest versions of its software "as soon as possible to ensure the security of your environment."

FireEye: The cybersecurity firm announced last week that a "highly sophisticated state-sponsored adversary" stole its "red team" tools, which are used to test security vulnerabilities in its customers' computer networks. FireEye's clients include government agencies.

The company says it's working with the FBI, Microsoft, and SolarWinds. And in an update issued late Sunday, FireEye said it has identified signs of compromised security in "multiple organizations," dating back to the spring of 2020. It also confirms others' findings of a sophisticated and meticulous attack.

"Our analysis indicates that these compromises are not self-propagating; each of the attacks require meticulous planning and manual interaction," FireEye said.

Microsoft: "We believe this is nation-state activity at significant scale, aimed at both the government and private sector," the company said, as it shared some details about what it calls "the threat activity we've uncovered over the past weeks."

Microsoft says the malicious code in the SolarWinds update gave hackers a foothold in the target's computer network, "which the attacker can use to gain elevated credentials." It adds that its Microsoft Defender software can now detect the files used in the hack.

The company applauded other firms for being open and transparent in revealing the hacking attacks, saying it will help others boost their security. As for Microsoft itself, the company said that so far, it hasn't "found evidence of a successful attack" in its own systems.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency: CISA said on Sunday that it "is aware of active exploitation of SolarWinds Orion Platform software" that was released between March 2020 and June 2020. The agency is urging any affected organizations to take steps to detect intrusions, and take countermeasures.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×