US State Dept Recently Hit by Cyberattack, Serious Breach 'Possible' - Reports
20:22 GMT 21.08.2021 (Updated: 09:03 GMT 10.02.2023)
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The actual extent of the breach and the perpetrators behind it remain unclear so far, and the State Department has not made any official comments yet. The attack is believed to have occurred a couple of weeks ago.
The US Department of State has been hit by a cyberattack, with the Department of Defence Cyber Command suggesting a "possible serious breach", media reports indicated on Saturday.
"The Department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to ensure information is protected. For security reasons, we are not in a position to discuss the nature or scope of any alleged cybersecurity incidents at this time", a Fox News reporter tweeted, citing a State Department spokesperson.
It is unclear when the breach was discovered, but it is believed to have happened a couple weeks ago.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 21, 2021
A source familiar tells Fox the State Department's ongoing mission to evacuate Americans and allied refugees in Afghanistan "have not been affected".
Notably, a Senate Homeland Security committee report this month rated State Department’s overall information security a ‘D’, the lowest possible rating in the model, calling it ineffective in 4 of 5 function areashttps://t.co/FqOnxeaimr pic.twitter.com/ALqq94l1hd
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 21, 2021
A source familiar with the matter reportedly told Fox News that the breach did not affect the evacuation of people from Afghanistan, which is taking place amid America's hasty and chaotic withdrawal from the country.
5 August 2021, 17:50 GMT
The United States has been targeted by a significant number of cyberattacks in recent years, mainly aimed at government agencies and businesses. Both Democrats and Republicans alike have mostly blamed the attacks on Russia and China, even though no proof has been provided to substantiate the claims of their involvement.
In April, Biden imposed a range of retaliatory measures against Russia for alleged election interference and malicious cyberactivity, including last year's SolarWinds attack. Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations as lacking any evidence.
