Security News > 2021 > March > SolarWinds Attackers Accessed DHS Emails, Report

The SolarWinds cyberattackers compromised the head of the Department of Homeland Security under former president Trump and other top-ranking members of the department's cybersecurity staff, according to a report.

With Sunburst embedded, the attackers were then able to pick and choose which organizations to further penetrate, in a massive cyberespionage campaign that has hit nine U.S. government agencies, tech companies like Microsoft and 100 others hard.

"The SolarWinds hack was a victory for our foreign adversaries, and a failure for DHS," Sen. Rob Portman, ranking member of the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told the AP. "We are talking about DHS's crown jewels."

In the wake of the discovery of the massive operation, DHS officials, including Wolf, switched to using new mobile phones with Signal encrypted messaging to communicate, officials told the AP. DHS spokesperson Sarah Peck told the outlet that "a small number of employees' accounts were targeted in the breach" and that the agency "No longer sees indicators of compromise on our networks."

The Biden administration is taking steps to address the aftereffects of the SolarWinds campaign throughout the federal government.

Neuberger has been assigned to respond to the SolarWinds attack.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/solarwinds-attackers-dhs-emails/165110/