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Friday, 18 December 2020 05:10

This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-12-18-20: Russian Hackers Infiltrate US Government Networks

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An ongoing cyber intrusion into more than 18 thousand computer systems worldwide, poses a "grave risk" to federal, state, and local governments, as well as private companies and organizations, according to the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which this week issued an Emergency Directive urging all those affected by the breach to take immediate action to secure their networks.

The Trump administration has not formally blamed Russia for the attack, but after an Armed Services Committee meeting, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), tweeted "Russia’s cyberattack left me deeply alarmed, in fact downright scared. Americans deserve to know what’s going on.”

In addition, Microsoft issued a statement, which states in part:
"This latest cyber-assault is effectively an attack on the United States and its government and other critical institutions, including security firms. It illuminates the ways the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve and become even more dangerous. As much as anything, this attack provides a moment of reckoning. It requires that we look with clear eyes at the growing threats we face and commit to more effective and collaborative leadership by the government and the tech sector in the United States to spearhead a strong and coordinated global cybersecurity response."

But how could something this big, this dangerous, and this pervasive have happened, and more specifically; how did it work?


To find out, we talked to CBS News Law Enforcement and Security Analyst, Paul Viollis, and TrustedSec Incident Response Lead, Tyler Hudak.

PAUL VIOLLIS CBS

Paul Viollis, CBS News Law Enforcement and Security Analyist

Tyler Hudak

Tyler Hudak, Incident Response Lead, TrustedSec

Read 2857 times Last modified on Sunday, 03 January 2021 08:15