Hackers compromised dozens of Department of Homeland Security computers, moving sensitive information to Chinese-language Web sites, congressional investigators said Monday.
Investigators pointed a finger at a government contractor, saying the firm hired to protect DHS computers tried to hide the incidents from the department.
The FBI is investigating the incidents, a congressional staffer said, and two members of Congress have asked the department’s inspector general to also launch an investigation.
“The results of our [committee] investigation suggest that the department is the victim not only of cyber attacks initiated by foreign entities, but of incompetent and possibly illegal activity by the contractor charged with maintaining security on its networks,” Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and James Langevin of Rhode Island said in a written statement.
The lawmakers said committee investigators found dozens of DHS computers were compromised and the incidents “were not noticed until months after the initial attacks.”
The extent of the damage is unclear, but a House Homeland Security Committee staff member said the hackers “took significant amounts of information.”
Don’t you feel safer now?
Read Previous Post