What you need to know about the biggest hack of the US government in years – By Kari Paul (The Guardian) / Dec 15 2020
Russian agents are suspected in the Orion breach, which affected the treasury and commerce departments – and perhaps others
A vast trove of US government emails has been targeted in a hack thought to have been carried out by Russia, American officials revealed on Monday.
The stunningly large and sophisticated operation reportedly targeted federal government networks and marks the biggest cyber-raid against US officials in years. The treasury and commerce departments were both affected and others may have been breached.
Hackers gained entry into networks by getting more than 18,000 private and government users to download a tainted software update. Once inside, they were able to monitor internal emails at some of the top agencies in the US.
Here’s what you need to know, and what comes next.
