The attack by “elite Russian hackers” who gained access to the computers of the US federal agencies showed the weaknesses in the cybersecurity of the American state. Former US counterintelligence director William Evanina told the Associated Press about the vulnerabilities allegedly discovered by the Russians.
He explained that the hackers did not need to break into the system in order to get there one by one: instead, they infiltrated the supply system and ensured that after the update on computers, a number of government departments turned out to be spyware. Evanina likened the existing system to a construction site with many subcontractors: it only takes one unreliable to fail.
“We will have to find a solution to this problem, not only for America as the largest economy in the world, but for the entire planet,” the agency quoted him as saying. According to Evanin, counterintelligence has warned of the danger of this problem for many years, but neither the state nor private companies attached due importance to this.
On December 13, Reuters reported that Russian hackers allegedly carried out an attack on the US Department of Homeland Security and gained access to internal communications in the department. The attack was part of a campaign that also hacked into the systems of the US Treasury Department and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Moscow denies accusations of hacker attacks on American departments and considers them unfounded.