US Treasury and Commerce Departments Accuse Hackers Supporting Russia of Cyberattacks (Update)

Targeting Email Vulnerabilities
High Risk of Damage to Other Organizations

Russian Hackers Wanted by the FBI.
[Photo by AP]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Hackers supported by the Russian government have been identified as having hacked emails of agencies under the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Commerce. It is suggested that a significant number of U.S. federal government agencies may have suffered hacking damage.

On the 13th (local time), according to the Washington Post (WP) and others, a hacking incident occurred at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which decides internet and communication-related policies under the Department of Commerce and the Treasury. NTIA is an organization that advises the President on internet and communication-related policies. Although it is known that there are more affected agencies, it has not been confirmed how much data was hacked this time or whether confidential information was included.

This hacking is known to be related to Microsoft (MS)'s business software 'Microsoft Office 365.' Emails of employees using this software were monitored by hackers for several months. The hacking method was also different from the past. Instead of hacking IDs and passwords, the hackers exploited vulnerabilities occurring during the process of sending and receiving emails within MS or Google's systems. Because detecting this is very difficult, the hacking was not revealed until now.

The New York Times (NYT) reported that this incident is the most sophisticated and extensive hacking case in the past five years. According to NYT, the major U.S. security company FireEye provided evidence that could confirm traces of hacking to MS and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to defend against hacking attacks. It is estimated that additional hacking targeting U.S. federal government agencies was identified during this process.

WP reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is pointing to the hacker group APT29, affiliated with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), as the culprit of this hacking incident. APT29 is said to have hacked FireEye and attempted to steal research data on COVID-19 vaccines from Western countries. The FBI is investigating a hacker group affiliated with the SVR related to the hacking, and this group is known to be APT29. The NSA also recently warned that hackers supported by the Russian government are attempting extensive hacking on federal government agencies.

The White House recognized the seriousness of the situation and immediately acknowledged the hacking damage. However, it did not disclose whether Russia was responsible. John Elliott, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council (NSC), stated in a press release that day, "The U.S. government is taking all necessary measures to identify and rectify the issues related to this situation." It was also reported that the NSC held a countermeasure meeting the day before, recognizing the seriousness of the incident.

NYT recalled the case where Russia hacked former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the White House, and the State Department.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.