LEAVING THE STADIUM, TWO WEEKS
HE’LL BE GONE, HE’LL BE PLAYING
GOLF.
IT’S A STRANGE FAN TO PLAY TO
WHEN HE’S LEAVING THE GAME.
>>> LET’S TURN TO THE MAJOR
STORY, HACKERS BROKE INTO
SEVERAL U.S. FEDERAL AGENCIES
AND PRIVATE COMPANIES AND NOW
WE’RE LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE
SCOPE OF THE VAST CYBERATTACK
LINKED TO RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE.
U.S. OFFICIALS FEAR HACKERS USED
AN ARRAY OF TOOLS AND PREVIOUSLY
UNKNOWN TACTICS TO BREAK IN TO
GOVERNMENT NETWORKS.
THE STATE DEFENSE, HOMELAND
SECURITY, COMMERCE WERE ALL
TARGETED AND YESTERDAY POLITICO
REPORTED THE DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY AND ITS NATIONAL NUCLEAR
SECURITY ADMINISTRATION WHICH
MAINTAINS THE NUCLEAR STOCKPILE
WAS ALSO BREACHED.
THE CYBER SECURITY AND
INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY
WARNED, QUOTE, IT HAS DETERMINED
THAT THIS THREAT POSES A GRAVE
RISK.
IT WENT ON, REMOVING THIS THREAT
ACTOR FROM COMPROMISED
ENVIRONMENTS WILL BE HIGHLY
COMPLEX AND CHALLENGING. THIS IS A PATIENT, WELL
THIS IS A PATIENT, WELL
RESOURCED AND FOCUSED ADVERSARY.
MICROSOFT SAID IT WAS IN THE
ATTACK, STARTING AS EARLY AS
MARCH OF THIS YEAR.
IT’S NOT JUST THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT, THE INTERCEPT IS
REPORTING THAT RUSSIAN HACKERS
BREACHED THE CITY NETWORK OF
AUSTIN, TEXAS.
JOINING US NOW NATIONAL SECURITY
CORRESPONDENT FROM POLITICO,
NATASHA BERTRAND.
SHE HAS BEEN COVERING THIS STORY
CLOSELY.
LET’S DIG SPECIFICALLY INTO YOUR
STORY ABOUT HOW THIS WAS
DETECTED AND WHO EXACTLY IT
APPEARS HAS PULLED THIS OFF.
>> YEAH.
SO THIS WAS INITIALLY DETECTED
BY A CYBER SECURITY FIRM CALLED
FIREEYE AND THEY INITIALLY
DETECTED IT BY NOTICING SOME
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY IN THEIR OWN
NETWORKS.
THEY LOOKED INTO IT AND THEY
REALIZED THAT THERE WAS A
VULNERABILITY IN SOFTWARE THAT
WAS DEVELOPED BY A COMPANY
CALLED SOLAR WINDS WHICH IS USED
ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
IT’S KIND OF AN I.T. MANAGEMENT
SOFTWARE USE BY MANY DIFFERENT
FEDERAL AGENCIES AND THEY
DISCOVERED A BACK DOOR THAT WAS
PLACED INTO SOLAR WINDS THAT WAS
ALLOWING THE HACKERS TO
COMPROMISE THAT SOFTWARE AND
THEN DIG INTO THE FEDERAL
AGENCIES THAT WAY.
NOW, SOLAR WINDS DOESN’T ITSELF
KNOW YET OR AT LEAST IT HADN’T
ANNOUNCED HOW THEY WERE
COMPROMISED.
SO THAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN, BUT
SO FAR, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS
NOT OFFICIALLY POINTED THE
FINGER AT RUSSIAN HACKERS BUT
CYBER SECURITY EXPERTS AND
SECURITY EXPERTS WRIT LARGE SAYS
THIS HAS ALL OF THE HALLMARKS OF
A RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE
OPERATION.
>> OBVIOUSLY, NATASHA, WHEN WE
LOOK AT YOUR PIECE, NUCLEAR
WEAPONS AGENCY WAS TARGETED
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE
STOCKPILE HERE.
A BRAVE RISK SAYS THE CYBER
SECURITY AGENCY INSIDE HOMELAND
SECURITY.
WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED WITH THE
NUCLEAR AGENCY AND HOW CONCERNED ARE THEY ABOUT THAT COMPROMISE?
ARE THEY ABOUT THAT COMPROMISE?
>> THEY’RE VERY CONCERNED.
THE HACKERS APPEAR TO HAVE
GOTTEN INTO THE DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY’S NETWORK AND
SPECIFICALLY INTO THE NETWORKS
OF THE NATIONAL LAB WHICH
CONDUCT ATOMIC RESEARCH RELATED
TO CIVIL NUCLEAR POWER AND THEY
GOT INTO THE NATIONAL NUCLEAR
SECURITY ADMINISTRATION WHICH IS
TASKED WITH MOVING ENRICHED
URANIUM AND THEY DON’T APPEAR TO
HAVE COMPROMISED ANY OF THE KEY
NATIONAL CAPABILITIES OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY BUT THEY
WERE ABLE TO BURROW INTO THE
NETWORKS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY DOESN’T KNOW HOW MUCH
DAMAGE THESE HACKERS WERE ABLE
TO DO YET.
ACCORDING TO MY SOURCES, THE
ENERGY OFFICIALS WERE SAYING
YESTERDAY WHEN THEY WERE
BRIEFING THE DEPARTMENT ON THIS
ISSUE THAT IT MIGHT BE WEEKS
BEFORE THEY FINALLY ARE ABLE TO
DETERMINE WHAT THE HACKERS WERE
ACTUALLY ABLE TO ACCESS, WHAT
THEY STOLE, IF ANYTHING, AND THE
EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE BECAUSE
RIGHT NOW, WHAT THEY WERE ABLE
TO LOCATE ACTIVITY -- SUSPICIOUS
ACTIVITY IN FIVE OF THE SUB
AGENCIES INCLUDING THE
NUCLEAR -- NATIONAL NUCLEAR