According to various media reports, hackers are said to have attacked the Treasury, the Commerce Department and other US authorities. The spokesman for the National Security Council, John Ullyot, informed the German Press Agency in Washington on Sunday evening (local time) when asked: “The US government is aware of these reports and we are taking all necessary steps to resolve possible problems in connection with them Identify and fix the situation. ” The Department of Commerce confirmed to the broadcaster CNN that hackers had breached security measures in one of its offices.

The Washington Post reported that hackers with ties to the Russian secret service SWR were responsible for the attacks on the Ministry of Finance and Commerce and other US authorities. It is unclear what information was stolen. The cyber attacks had been going on for months. These are the same hackers who attacked the FireEye IT security company that US authorities often use in cyberattacks. First, the Reuters news agency reported the incident on Sunday.

The attacked defenders FireEye reported last Tuesday , The cyberattack also stole attack software, which the company usually uses to test its customers’ defense systems. It is still unclear whether these tools should be used for hacker attacks. In addition, the attackers were particularly interested in information about government customers of the company.

FireEye assumed that hackers acting on behalf of the state were behind the attack . This was indicated, among other things, by the technical skills and discipline of the attackers, it said. According to the Washington Post on Sunday, the Federal Police FBI was switched on.

(kbe)