US steps up its action against cyber attacks
Facing a cyber security breach lasting over four months, the State Department has enforced the planned outage of its internet system for upgrading
John Brennan, Director of the CIA, who warned at a recent even that the government faces attempted breaches on a daily basis from a variety of attackers
On March 13, the State Department announced the temporary suspension of its internet and email systems in an ongoing effort to protect its networks against cyber attacks.
“The Department continues to closely monitor and respond to activity of concern on our unclassified network. Such activity is something we take very seriously. There has been no compromise of any of the Department’s classified systems, nor of our core financial, consular, and human resource systems”, spokesperson Jen Psaki said in the statement released by the Department.
Another incident in February revealed the continued presence of cyber attackers within the Department’s computer network
The decision comes after breaches were found in the system last November, coinciding with those also discovered in the White House computer network. Then, another incident in February revealed the continued presence of cyber attackers within the Department’s computer network. Using sophisticated and constantly evolving methods, hackers were able to stay ahead of the government’s security measures. Although the Department maintains that the assault did not reach classified data, it highlighted the level of risk now prevalent for the government.
Currently the services of private agencies are being used to help protect the department’s data and implement a re-haul of the security infrastructure. Along with other public institutions and organisations, the department is under the growing threat of increasingly sophisticated cyber assaults.
The CIA’s Director, John Brennan, last week revealed that the computer networks of the US government face attempted breaches on a daily basis from a variety of attackers, including terrorists and even other governments. In order to mitigate this growing threat to national security, in early March the CIA announced its plans to launch a new unit dedicated to cyber-espionage called the Directorate of Digital Innovation. The FBI, Department of Defence and Homeland Security have also heightened their respective cyber security operations.
