On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security's cyber hack office issued an urgent notice that more advanced tools were used by American intelligence agencies, who were alleged to work for the Kremlin to cyber hack and infiltrate government systems. The same official said that the cyber hacks were offensive and "a grave risk to the federal government."
READ: US FDA Panel Gives Support to Moderna, Endorses 2nd COVID-19 Vaccine
As federal investigators measure the impairment and comprehend what had been stolen, they discovered that the hacking scope extends beyond nuclear laboratories and Pentagon, Treasury, and Commerce Department systems, thus complicating their investigation.
On Thursday, a Microsoft representative also said that what resonates with the government's cautioning had identified at least 40 companies, including government agencies, where the alleged Russian hackers had stolen data. Microsoft added that almost half are private cybersecurity firms like FireEye, which is in charge of safeguarding the public and private sectors, and others are technology corporations.
Microsoft's President, Mr. Brad Smith, said in an interview, "It's still early days, but we have already identified 40 victims - more than anyone else has stated so far - and believe that number should rise substantially" He also added. "There are more nongovernmental victims than there are governmental victims, with a big focus on I.T. companies, especially in the security industry."
ALSO READ: Dr. Fauci to Skip Christmas with Family in 30 Years, Cautious of COVID-19 Surge During the Holidays
Ms. Shaylyn Hynes, Department of Energy spokeswoman, said in a statement, "The Energy Department and its National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the American nuclear stockpile, were compromised as part of the larger attack, but its investigation found the hack did not affect "mission-essential national security functions. At this point, the investigation has found that the malware has been isolated to business networks only," Ms. Hynes said.
It is believed that the group behind the cyber hacks is S.V.R., an elite Russian intelligence agency, as per intelligence agencies. Yet, Congress officials have to name the responsible publicly. A Microsoft "heat map" of infections shows that 80 percent are in the United States while they came clean from conditions.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warning statement only confirmed suspicions expressed this week by the cybersecurity firm FireEye. They were practically specific other routes that the attackers had found to get into their day-to-day business servers on which the United States depended. It did not give info on the new cyber hack method used and got into the government systems.
The government was notified by FireEye first that at least since March this year, the suspected Russian hackers had infested the periodic software updates. Those are the reports issued by SolarWinds, which makes critical network monitoring software used by the government and many Fortune 500 firms to manage power grid and other critical infrastructures.
READ MORE: States File Monopoly Suit Against Google Over Alleged Illegal Deal With Facebook
The goal of the Russian cyber hack could possibly be traditional espionage, as believed by the investigators. Nevertheless, the hacking's extent and depth raise apprehensions that hackers could eventually use their entree to shut off American systems, corrupt or destroy data, or take command of computer systems that run the processes. So far, no proof of that happening has been seen.
