Security News > 2021 > January > US: Hack of Federal Agencies 'Likely Russian in Origin'

Top national security agencies confirmed Tuesday that Russia was likely responsible for a massive hack of U.S. government departments and corporations, rejecting President Donald Trump's claim that China might be to blame.

The agencies made clear the Russian operation was "Ongoing" and indicated the hunt for threats was not over.

Of those customers "a much smaller number has been compromised by follow-on activity on their systems," the statement said, noting that fewer than 10 federal government agencies have so far been identified as falling into that category.

Nor has Microsoft, which said it identified more than 40 compromised government and private targets, most in the U.S. Microsoft said in a blog post last week that hackers tied to the intrusions of government agencies and companies sneaked further into its systems than previously thought and were able to view some of the code underlying Microsoft software, but weren't able to make any changes to it.

Ben Buchanan, a Georgetown University cyberespionage expert, said the fact that multiple investigating agencies are now attributing the hacking campaign to Russia "Removes any remaining serious doubts about the perpetrators."

As for the number of federal agencies compromised, he said it's difficult to know "From the outside how they've evaluated this." While such assessments are difficult, Buchanan said, he believes the government must have evidence for the claim given the joint nature of the statement.

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