AP sources: SolarWinds hack got emails of top DHS officials

[riversedge]

Source: AP




By ALAN SUDERMAN 2 hours ago


Suspected Russian hackers gained access to email accounts belonging to the Trump administration’s head of the Department of Homeland Security and members of the department’s cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries, The Associated Press has learned.

The intelligence value of the hacking of then-acting Secretary Chad Wolf and his staff is not publicly known, but the symbolism is stark. Their accounts were accessed as part of what’s known as the SolarWinds intrusion and it throws into question how the U.S. government can protect individuals, companies and institutions across the country if it can’t protect itself.


The short answer for many security experts and federal officials is that it can’t — at least not without some significant changes.

“The SolarWinds hack was a victory for our foreign adversaries, and a failure for DHS,” said Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, top Republican on the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “We are talking about DHS’s crown jewels.”

The Biden administration has tried to keep a tight lid on the scope of the SolarWinds attack as it weighs retaliatory measures against Russia. But an inquiry by the AP found new details about the breach at DHS and other agencies, including the Energy Department, where hackers accessed top officials’ private schedules.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/rob-portman-hacking-email-russia-8bcd4a4eb3be1f8f98244766bae70395

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FILE - In this Aug. 18, 2020, file photo acting-Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, center, arrives to join President Donald Trump at Andrews Air Force Base in Md. In December, U.S. officials discovered that federal agencies had fallen victim to a cyberespionage effort pulled off largely through a hack of SolarWinds software .The hackers accessed accounts belonging to then-acting Secretary Chad Wolf and staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who focus on finding cyber threats from nation-state adversaries like Russia, according to current and former senior Homeland Security Department and intelligence officials who were briefed on the extent of the breach. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

[machoneman]

1. Hack my ass! Wolf GAVE the Russkies all they wanted and more at trump's direction.

This I'm sure of as Putin's little bitch would have it no other way. Film at 11!

[riversedge]

2. "oreign state hackers are increasingly using U.S.-based virtual private networks, "........

This is a LONG term problem and has been for a LONG time.
Our President has his hands full and I hope he is getting the help he needs to address this problem



............One issue that’s flummoxed policy makers is that foreign state hackers are increasingly using U.S.-based virtual private networks, or VPNs, to evade detection by U.S. intelligence agencies, which are legally constrained from monitoring domestic infrastructure. The hosting services of Amazon Web Services and GoDaddy were used by the SolarWinds hackers to evade detection, officials said recently.

The Biden administration is not planning to step up government surveillance of the U.S. internet in response and instead wants to focus on tighter partnerships and improved information-sharing with the private-sector companies that already have broad visibility into the domestic internet.

Responsibility for responding to breaches, preventing new ones and providing oversight of those efforts is still unsettled, and last month leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee criticized the Biden administration for a “disorganized response” to the SolarWinds hack.

The Biden administration tapped Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emergency technology, to respond to the SolarWinds and Microsoft breaches. It hasn’t appointed a national cyber director, a new position, frustrating some members of Congress. ....................

[bronxiteforever]

3. Kick and recommend for visibility. Must read.