Cyberattack on US government poses ‘grave risk’ – security agency

Published December 18, 2020 7:00am

WASHINGTON – A sophisticated cyberattack on US government agencies and private companies that was revealed this week poses a “grave risk” and thwarting it will be “highly complex,” the US computer security agency said Thursday.

President-elect Joe Biden expressed “great concern” over the computer breach while Utah Senator Mitt Romney blamed Russia and slammed what he called “inexcusable silence” from the White House.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said US government agencies, critical infrastructure entities, and private sector organizations had been targeted by what it called an “advanced persistent threat actor.”

CISA did not identify who was behind the malware attack but private security companies pointed a finger at hackers linked to the Russian government.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also suggested involvement by Moscow on Monday, saying the Russian government had made repeated attempts to breach US government networks.

SOURCE: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/technology/768495/cyberattack-on-us-government-poses-grave-risk-security-agency/story/