US state department hit by cyberattack

Media reports claim that the US state department was hit by a cyberattack earlier this month. The reports also say that the Department of Defense Cyber Command of the US government has notified of a “serious breach.” At the same time, it remains unclear to what extent the cyber attack affected the department, as well as who the perpetrators are.

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A Couple Weeks Ago

The news was first brought forth by Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Henrich, who said that it is believed that the breach occurred “a couple weeks ago.” At the same time, the reporter added that the breach had not, in any way, affected the department’s mission to evacuate Americans and allied refugees living in Afghanistan. In a series of tweets, Henrich also asserts that the details of the breach, including its extent, the investigation going into the suspected entity, as well as the efforts that are being taken to mitigate the problem, as well as prevent any risk to operations, continue to remain unclear.

And that’s not all, since the Fox News reporter has also been informed by a spokesperson from the state department, that “security reasons” currently prevent the department’s officials from divulging any information about the “nature and scope of any cybersecurity incidents at this time, ” and so, will not be discussing the same.

Following the approach taken by Fox News, CNBC too, decided to reach out to the Department of State regarding the issue. Upon this, the same statement was relayed by the authority. At the same time, Reuters says that a “knowledgeable source” asserts that the US Department of State has not experienced any significant problems recently, and that its operations have not been affected in any way. The source,  however, has not confirmed any incident of security breach on the department’s part.

Thanks To Weak Cybersecurity Measures?

This comes in quick succession after the members of the US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee earlier this month released a bipartisan report, which they had prepared after reviewing eight federal agencies, claiming that none of the reviewed agencies had met the most basic protocols and standards regarding cybersecurity. As such, they were found to be lacking significantly on the security front, when it came to protecting the personal identification data of American citizens, or even to the type of programs and equipment used by the agencies themselves.

Source: Hindustan Times