One thing is certain, 2020 isn’t over yet.
In what could be called one of the major gaffes of the year, The U.S. Department of the Treasury was hacked, and the hack could have been carried out by foreign entities.
One person even told the Washington Post, “This is looking very, very bad.”
Reuters shed light on what will likely be a developing situation, including the possible foreign involvement:
A sophisticated hacking group backed by a foreign government stole information from the U.S. Treasury Department and a U.S. agency responsible for deciding policy around the internet and telecommunications, according to people familiar with the matter.
That, unfortunately, is only the beginning of this story…
Reporting on the incident, Robert Wenzel described a scene of panic in the U.S. government: “Officials were scrambling over the weekend to assess the extent of the intrusions and implement effective countermeasures, but initial signs suggested the breach was long-running and significant, the Post adds.”
A long-running and significant breach in the U.S. Treasury security infrastructure will likely generate ripple effects, especially if foreign actors were involved.
Well-known security expert Brian Krebs summarized the potential for both widespread and long-term impacts stemming from this single breach:
Communications at the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments were reportedly compromised by a supply chain attack on SolarWinds, a security vendor that helps the federal government and a range of Fortune 500 companies monitor the health of their IT networks. Given the breadth of the company’s customer base, experts say the incident may be just the first of many such disclosures.
Over 90% of the Fortune 500 Affected?
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
