'US Treasury email accounts were compromised' in cyberattack, says key Democrat

In the aftermath of uncovering of a large-scale cyberattack on US government agencies, a key Democratic senator on December 21 added new details about the extent of the breach and said that US Treasury Department email accounts were compromised in what is being suspected as Russian hack. As per CNN report, Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee said in a statement that the committee was informed on the hack by both Treasury and IRS officials and it “appears to be significant” and that "dozens of email accounts were compromised". Wyden also said that the Treasury is still unaware of all the actions taken by the hackers or what is the stolen information.

"According to Treasury staff, the agency suffered a serious breach, beginning in July, the full depth of which isn't known. Microsoft notified the agency that dozens of email accounts were compromised. Additionally, the hackers broke into systems in the Departmental Offices division of Treasury, home to the department's highest-ranking officials," Wyden said. "Treasury still does not know all of the actions taken by hackers, or precisely what information was stolen."

However, the key Democrat did not mention if Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was impacted by the cyberattack not informed that IRS officials had claimed that their si no evidence if their agency was compromised. As per US media reports, the officials have suspected that the hackers that have been compromising the security of the federal agencies for several months have Russian links. The several impacted agencies also include Departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture and Commerce.

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US Cyberattack 'genuinely impacted' over 50 organisations

The US cyber-security firm that had identified the large-scale hacking of country’s several federal agencies has reportedly said that it “genuinely impacted” at least 50 organisations. As per a separate media reportreport, the CEO of FireEye, Kevin Mandia said that even though 18,000 organisations had the malevolent code in their networks, it was 50 of them that had suffered major impact and security breaches. Some of the affected organisations include US Treasury and departments of homeland security, state and defence among others. 

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently spoke on the significant cyberattacks and blamed Russia for the same. Similar remarks were echoed by chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives’ intelligence committees. However, US President Donald Trump, for whom the cyberattacks have been the latest blow after failing in reelection bid and spending closing days at the White House, cast doubt on Russia’s role in two tweets on December 19 while hinting at China’s involvement. 

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