It was clear from the start that a cyberattack by suspected Russian hackers aimed at several US government agencies was going to be bad. One clue: US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien cut short a trip overseas to rush back to Washington to help manage the crisis.
On Thursday, the reality of just how sprawling — and potentially damaging — the breach might be came into sharper focus.
It started with a bulletin from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), warning that the hackers were sophisticated, patient and well-resourced, representing a “grave risk” to federal, state and local governments, as well as critical infrastructure and the private sector.
Bloomberg News reported that at least three state governments were hacked, which followed reports of other breaches: the city network in Austin, Texas, and the US nuclear weapons agency. Software giant Microsoft Corp also said its systems were exposed.
The US Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the country’s nuclear stockpile, said that the malware was isolated to business networks and did not affect national security functions.
Nonetheless, the effect of the revelations was confirmation that no single person or agency is certain of exactly what the hackers had infiltrated, let alone the full extent of what was taken.
US president-elect Joe Biden interrupted a series of high-profile appointment announcements to weigh in.
“I want to be clear: My administration will make cybersecurity a top priority at every level of government — and we will make dealing with this breach a top priority from the moment we take office,” Biden said.
So far, US President Donald Trump has not commented on the attack.
The hackers installed what is known as a backdoor in widely used software from Texas-based SolarWinds Corp, whose customers include myriad government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.
That malicious backdoor, which was installed by 18,000 SolarWinds customers, allowed the hackers access to their computer networks.
US authorities — and governments around the world — are only now beginning to uncover who was unlucky enough to receive the hackers’ full attention.
Microsoft said it detected the backdoor in SolarWinds’ software in its “environment” and had “isolated and removed” it.
The company said that none of its customer data nor its products were accessed or used to further attacks on others.
In a blog post, Microsoft said it had identified more than 40 customers that the hackers had “targeted more precisely and compromised,” including “security and other technology firms,” think tanks and government contractors, in addition to government agencies.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique