Several federal agencies in the United States have been hacked as part of a broad cyberattack against dozens of businesses and organizations.
The hackers took advantage of a flaw in MOVEIt, a popular tool for efficiently transferring files.
Charles Carmakal, chief technical officer of Mandiant, a Google-owned cybersecurity firm whose clients include government organizations, said he was aware of some data loss from federal agencies as a result of the MOVEIt breaches.
It was unclear whether the stolen files were sensitive or whether the hackers had disrupted government infrastructure.
According to Eric Goldstein, the agency’s executive assistant director, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the country’s top civilian cybersecurity watchdog, said Thursday, June 15 that it is still examining the scale of the attacks.
“CISA is assisting several federal agencies that have experienced intrusions,” he explained. “We are working urgently to understand the impacts and ensure timely remediation.”
CISA Director Jen Easterly told NBC News on Thursday that the agency was tracking the hackers “as a well-known ransomware group.”
CISA and the FBI warned last week that CL0P was exploiting a previously discovered vulnerability in MOVEIt. According to Brett Callow, an expert at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, the group utilized that hole in a quick hacking binge to grab files from at least 47 firms and demand money to not publish them online.
