Spanish – The United States was victim of a massive cyberattack on the networks of several key government agencies. The eyes are focused on two countries. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo directly accused Russia. However, President Donald Trump downplayed the scope of this operation and suggested that the responsibility would lie with China.
“I cannot say much because we are still determining what happened, but it is quite clear that it was the Russians,” the secretary of state said on Friday. He is the first government official to directly accuse the Kremlin of the responsibility for the massive computer attack on the software of the Pentagon, the State Department, and the Departments of Commerce, Energy, and Homeland Security, among other agencies.
On the Mark Levin Show, Pompeo stated that “there was a significant effort to use a piece of third-party software to essentially embed code inside of US government systems.” The head of diplomacy added, “I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity.”
My interview this evening with our great Secretary of State Mike Pompeohttps://t.co/0pOffXv1w4
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) December 19, 2020
Trump targets China
For cybersecurity experts, this is the largest computer espionage operation in history. However, President Donald Trump assured that everything is under control. Playing down the importance of the issue, the president dismissed Russia’s culpability and pointed to China, linking the cyber-attack to the alleged hacking of voting machines to favor his rival, Joe Biden, in the November 3 elections.
“The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed, and everything is well under control. Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when anything happens…” The president adds in a thread on his Twitter account that “discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!). There could also have been a hit on our ridiculous voting machines during the election, which is now obvious that I won big, making it an even more corrupted embarrassment for the US.”
The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control. Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when anything happens because Lamestream is, for mostly financial reasons, petrified of….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2020
How did the hacking happen?
The information about the intelligence operation that has penetrated the heart of the United States government, numerous corporations, and diverse institutions in the world came to light on December 13, when Reuters reported that alleged Russian hackers had obtained access to emails from the Treasury and Commerce departments.
Hackers reportedly embedded malicious code in the network of a Texas software company called SolarWinds Corp, according to Microsoft and cybersecurity experts. According to the report, Microsoft notified more than 40 clients affected by these malicious programs, adds the Deutsche Welle.
Another warning published by the U.S. Agency for Cyber Security and Infrastructure last Thursday indicated that SolarWinds software was not the only tool used in the attacks, according to Milenio. This media warns that the same group probably used other methods to implant the malware.
Researchers at Microsoft and other companies investigating the attack indicated that the intruders began manipulating the SolarWinds code in October 2019, but they do not know how and when it was first compromised.