Governments and major corporations worldwide are scrambling to see if they, too, were victims of a global cyberespionage campaign that penetrated multiple U.S. government agencies and involved a common software product used by thousands of organizations.
Russia, the prime suspect, denies involvement. Cybersecurity investigators said the hack’s impact goes beyond the affected U.S. agencies, which include the Treasury and Commerce departments, though they haven’t disclosed which companies and other governments were targeted.
—
WHAT HAPPENED?
The hack began as early as March when malware was snuck into updates to popular software that monitors businesses and government computer networks. The malware, affecting a product made by U.S. company SolarWinds, gave the attacker remote access into an organization’s networks so it could steal information. It wasn’t discovered until the prominent cybersecurity company FireEye learned it was hacked. Whoever broke into FireEye was seeking data on its government clients, the company said – and made off with hacking tools it uses to probe its customers’ defenses.