Another possible incident of Russian hacking spooks US government

This article is more than 12 months old

Dec 15, 2020 06:00 am

WASHINGTON: Hackers believed to be working for Russia have been monitoring internal e-mail traffic at the US Treasury and Commerce departments, according to people familiar with the matter, adding that they feared what the hacks uncovered may be the tip of the iceberg.

The incident is so serious that it prompted a National Security Council meeting at the White House on Saturday, said a source.

US officials have not said much publicly beyond the Commerce Department confirming there was a breach at one of its agencies and that they asked the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI to investigate.

National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot said they "are taking all necessary steps to identify and remedy any possible issues related to this situation". - REUTERS