The recent hack of the U.S. Treasury Department had many email accounts compromised in the hack. It was part of the current Solar Wind hacked that hit several government agencies.
News of dozens of email accounts that were compromised by the U.S. treasury hack has been reported. The hacker attack is part of a campaign to get information from the U.S. government, said Snowden.
His statement on Monday mentioned that the senate finance committee was informed of the breach. The breach is a serious one that goes deeper and is still being assessed by experts, reported Reuters.
The breach came as vulnerabilities in the Solar Winds software on servers were compromised by malware. Allowing hackers freedom to move about the systems, one of the recommended fixes is to power down affected servers and disconnect from the internet.
Wyden, a senior DEMS on the committee, said that Microsoft warned that email accounts were compromised in the massive computer hack. The hack's extent reached into the Treasury's Departmental Offices division that had emails of top officials.
In a statement, there is still an inquiry into all the total activities that the hackers did. Most of the information comprised has been identified, but what exactly is not known. New information reveals that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was part of the systems' hacker sweep during the attack.
Compared to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Wyden is critical of the cyber-attack on the SolarWinds based server. Mnuchin told CNBC that the cyber-attack was investigated and that no damage was detected or signs that massive amounts of information were not taken from the U.S. Treasury Department
Also read: Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Calls Splitting the NSA, Cybercom Disturbing
He reassured those concerned that the situation is well under control.
Mnuchin's comments were not added on by the Treasury as of now. Request for remarks on the statements of Wyden is not available yet.
An aide to Wyden mentioned that the cyber-attackers could open the Treasury officials' Microsoft-hosted inboxes after bypassing the passwords on the system. Many institutions use a system like this, so one sign-in can be used for many services. This is preferred instead of using so many passwords.
Mnuchin's inbox was not one of those penetrated by the hackers, said the aide. Microsoft is yet to comment on the aide's remarks.
Breaching the cyber-barriers has concerned the U.S. government and cybersecurity experts internationally as the SolarWinds breach took everyone by surprise. Even the Texas-based tech firm SolarWinds is worried after the loophole in the system was not expected. Many fear that it left government and corporate networks in a terrible lurch.
Among the top U.S. officials have considered Russian as the main culprit in the computer hacking corporation. But, some indicators might be China as one of the suspects. This sentiment is expressed by some who are not sure if Russia is its cause more than China.
Russia has denied they are categorically responsible. President Trump has discounted Russia less and leaned towards China as the culprit. Several times he made statements of China as the more dangerous opponent.
It is not sure who sponsored the cyber-attack U.S. Treasury department, but it has serious consequences.
Related article: US Government Agencies Under Cyber Attack: Russia, China Main Suspects
