Hacked! Russian Hackers Breached White House Computer Networks
Russian hackers have hacked into the unclassified White House computer networks. The report comes after the increase in tension between Russia and the West.
A top White House official has confirmed that investigations are ongoing. The White House official did not say who was behind the intrusion or how much data, if any, was taken.
White House officials were informed of the breach by an ally, sources said to the Washington Post.
“In the course of assessing recent threats, we identified activity of concern on the unclassified Executive Office of the President network,” said one White House official. “We took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity. Unfortunately, some of that resulted in the disruption of regular services to users. But people were on it and are dealing with it.”
However, White House officials said that such an intrusion was not unexpected.
“On a regular basis, there are bad actors out there who are attempting to achieve intrusions into our system,” said a second White House official. “This is a constant battle for the government and our sensitive government computer systems, so it’s always a concern for us that individuals are trying to compromise systems and get access to our networks.”
Recently, FireEye, a U.S. security firm published an investigation that claims that a sophisticated, Russia-based hacker group, named APT28, is spying on NATO and former Soviet member states, most likely on the orders of the Russian government.
“APT28 targets insider information related to governments, militaries and security organizations that would likely benefit the Russian government,” the report says. These targets include the Georgian Defense and Interior ministries, post-Soviet governments in Eastern Europe that are now members of NATO, and the NATO alliance itself.
As early as October, another U.S. cyber security firm said that a group of Russian hackers with suspected government backing had used a previously unknown backdoor in Microsoft Windows operating systems to spy on NATO and several Western governments.
According to FireEye, “we also describe several malware samples containing details that indicate that the developers are Russian language speakers operating during business hours that are consistent with the time zone of Russia’s major cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. FireEye analysts also found that APT28 has systematically evolved its malware since 2007, using flexible and lasting platforms indicative of plans for long-term use and sophisticated coding practices that suggest an interest in complicating reverse engineering efforts.”
Could this be the same Russian hackers that breached the White House computer networks?
[Image via Google Images]
