According to Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the e-mail accounts used by the Treasury Department’s senior leadership have been hacked by alleged Russian government hackers who have conducted a major cyber-espionage campaign against many U.S. federal agencies. The ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee said the “full depth” of the Treasury Hack “isn’t known.”
Senate Finance Committee staff were briefed on a significant breach of the Treasury as part of the SolarWinds hack, Wyden said in a statement on Monday night.
“Hackers broke into systems in the Departmental Offices division of Treasury, home to the department’s highest-ranking officials. Treasury still does not know all of the actions taken by hackers, or precisely what information was stolen,” Wyden said.
The Internal Revenue Service reported that there was no indication that the Agency had been compromised or that the data on taxpayers had been affected, Wyden added.
Wyden said that Microsoft had alerted the Department to the compromise that started in July.
Cybersecurity analysts claim that a sophisticated group of hackers was able to penetrate U.S. government networks earlier this year through a product gap created by SolarWinds, which offers software for government agencies and large corporations.
Hackers were then able to access classified information and messages from clients of SolarWinds, including the Finance, Trade and Energy departments and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which manages the country’s nuclear weapons.
Senate Finance Committee staff were briefed on a significant breach of the Treasury as part of the SolarWinds hack, Wyden said in a statement on Monday night.
“Hackers broke into systems in the Departmental Offices division of Treasury, home to the department’s highest-ranking officials. Treasury still does not know all of the actions taken by hackers, or precisely what information was stolen,” Wyden said.
The Internal Revenue Service reported that there was no indication that the Agency had been compromised or that the data on taxpayers had been affected, Wyden added.
Wyden said that Microsoft had alerted the Department to the compromise that started in July.
Read more; Microsoft says that Russian hacking campaign hit over 40 businesses
Cybersecurity analysts claim that a sophisticated group of hackers was able to penetrate U.S. government networks earlier this year through a product gap created by SolarWinds, which offers software for government agencies and large corporations.
Hackers were then able to access classified information and messages from clients of SolarWinds, including the Finance, Trade and Energy departments and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which manages the country’s nuclear weapons.