Russia Accused of Hacking US Government Emails in Major Cyber Attack

Over the weekend, the United States government revealed that they had experienced an incredibly invasive cyber attack targeting a number of software systems at the highest levels in Washington DC.

While cyber warfare is certainly nothing new, especially over the course of the last 5 years, this attack was different in that it seemed likely that the perpetrators were able to look in at government email accounts in a number of different organizations.

Experts now believe that Russia may have been behind the attack.

A suspected Russian hack of internal U.S. Treasury Department emails have sparked fears among domestic intelligence that other government agencies could be at risk, according to people familiar with the matter.

Three unnamed sources familiar with an investigation told the Associated Press on Sunday that Russia is believed to have been behind the cyber attacks. U.S. officials have yet to release details publicly, including who is suspected to be behind the hack, beyond confirming that a breach has occurred. The Commerce Department said that one of its agencies was targeted, and the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are currently investigating the incident.

Two unnamed sources told the outlet that the hackers entered U.S. systems through updates released by SolarWinds, a software company based in Austin, Texas that also provides services to the White House, Pentagon and NASA, according to their website. Additionally, the company provides services to the country’s leading telecommunications providers, as well as “more than 425 of the U.S. Fortune 500.”

Russia has been covertly working to upset the American way of life for decades, and they’ve grown particularly adept at using the American political divide to foment chaos and disorder as of late.

Who knows how information gleaned from this cyber attack could be used to further stoke political chaos here in the US.