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sabra

(30,404 posts)
Thu Dec 17, 2020, 04:43 PM Dec 2020

Nuclear weapons agency breached amid massive cyber onslaught

Source: Politico

The Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, have evidence that hackers accessed their networks as part of an extensive espionage operation that has affected at least half a dozen federal agencies, officials directly familiar with the matter said.

On Thursday, DOE and NNSA officials began coordinating notifications about the breach to their congressional oversight bodies after being briefed by Rocky Campione, the chief information officer at DOE.

They found suspicious activity in networks belonging to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories in New Mexico and Washington, the Office of Secure Transportation and the Richland Field Office of the DOE. The hackers have been able to do more damage at FERC than the other agencies, the officials said, but did not elaborate.


Federal investigators have been combing through networks in recent days to determine what hackers had been able to access and/or steal, and officials at DOE still don’t know whether the attackers were able to access anything, the people said, noting that the investigation is ongoing and they may not know the full extent of the damage “for weeks.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/17/nuclear-agency-hacked-officials-inform-congress-447855

21 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Nuclear weapons agency breached amid massive cyber onslaught (Original Post) sabra Dec 2020 OP
We've been sold out and the attacks are beginning. Arne Dec 2020 #1
Can't help but wonder if Trump sold us out. nt procon Dec 2020 #2
Agree. This could take down a portion of our defenses. Traitor-in Chief Evolve Dammit Dec 2020 #3
Hell, they might launch our own missiles on our major cities. Ligyron Dec 2020 #11
If they successfully hack navigation systems for air/sea operations it would be chaos. Hmm, who Evolve Dammit Dec 2020 #16
If anybody kept their records in paper form it would be so secret they'd never figure it out bucolic_frolic Dec 2020 #4
this is all trump and putin llashram Dec 2020 #5
I wonder how many power turbines and grids will be shut down when putin starts his sanctions yaesu Dec 2020 #6
This is my worry as well. thucythucy Dec 2020 #7
OMG!!! LovingA2andMI Dec 2020 #8
This message was self-deleted by its author Freelancer Dec 2020 #9
There has been a cyber war going on for years Javaman Dec 2020 #10
Once it was for sure all over for Trump, they let loose the dogs of war LiberalLovinLug Dec 2020 #12
well. barbtries Dec 2020 #13
Don't worry. LudwigPastorius Dec 2020 #14
Is that Rick Perry?? Evolve Dammit Dec 2020 #17
Yep, old Cement Head himself. LudwigPastorius Dec 2020 #19
He is "number than a pounded thumb." Solid bone from ear to ear. Evolve Dammit Dec 2020 #20
! LudwigPastorius Dec 2020 #21
This must have been years in the making IronLionZion Dec 2020 #15
when you see the flash twodogsbarking Dec 2020 #18

Ligyron

(7,821 posts)
11. Hell, they might launch our own missiles on our major cities.
Thu Dec 17, 2020, 09:33 PM
Dec 2020

Naw, they got too much money invested in the USA to totally destroy us. But if our genius computer wizards see them pulling all their money out suddenly...

Evolve Dammit

(17,919 posts)
16. If they successfully hack navigation systems for air/sea operations it would be chaos. Hmm, who
Fri Dec 18, 2020, 11:02 AM
Dec 2020

stated multiple times how much he loved chaos (besides Get Smart villians). Some bloviating orange guy... Wait, it'll come to me.

llashram

(6,269 posts)
5. this is all trump and putin
Thu Dec 17, 2020, 05:02 PM
Dec 2020

we all know what kind of loser trump is. A snarling hateful and vindictive human being. He and his BFF Putin with a liberal dose of Stephen Miller are probably cooking up some of this. It's just too pat. This type massive attack didn't start till Krebs was fired. We already know the Republicans are seditious traitors. It's just too pat.

yaesu

(8,025 posts)
6. I wonder how many power turbines and grids will be shut down when putin starts his sanctions
Thu Dec 17, 2020, 05:06 PM
Dec 2020

retaliation after Biden takes office

thucythucy

(8,579 posts)
7. This is my worry as well.
Thu Dec 17, 2020, 05:28 PM
Dec 2020

My hope is that we have the same if not more capacity to fuck with Putin's infrastructure, and also his finances and those of his cronies.

It would be ironic justice, for instance, if Putin was to wake up one morning and find all his overseas bank accounts drained empty.

We may now be in a situation similar to the old Mutually Assured Destruction days of the cold war. They won't take us down because they know we'll retaliate, and vice versa.

I'm hoping all this will be thoroughly investigated once President Biden takes office.

Response to sabra (Original post)

Javaman

(62,910 posts)
10. There has been a cyber war going on for years
Thu Dec 17, 2020, 07:50 PM
Dec 2020

This attack is by and far the worst. If you could equate this to any attack on US soil in the past, it would be all of then wrapped in one. This wasn’t an attack in one base this was a effective attack on all our bases, intelligence structure, cyber security and who know what else.

This is an act of war but since no one got killed or things haven’t blown up, we as a nation shrug flip the channel and are glad we can still watch Netflix, get porn and text inane messages to each other.

In another universe this would start a major conflict.

This isn’t going to stop

Unless the US clamps down hard on the Russian and does a massive counter cyber strike, this is going to get so much worse.

LudwigPastorius

(10,254 posts)
19. Yep, old Cement Head himself.
Fri Dec 18, 2020, 02:40 PM
Dec 2020

Who would have thought that putting a guy who got a "D" in a college course called "Meats" in charge of the nuclear arsenal was going to end badly?



IronLionZion

(46,618 posts)
15. This must have been years in the making
Fri Dec 18, 2020, 10:08 AM
Dec 2020

and discovered recently. Especially since Russia has a useful idiot in the white house doing stupid and malicious things to help them.

CISA was overwhelmed and might not be able to allocate the necessary resources to respond.


Several top officials from CISA, including its former director Christopher Krebs, have either been pushed out by the Trump administration or resigned in recent weeks.


The Biden administration is likely going to have to deal with this:
The attack on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may have been an effort to disrupt the nation's bulk electric grid. FERC doesn't directly manage any power flows, but it does store sensitive data on the grid that could be used to identify the most disruptive locations for future attacks.
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