The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the nonpartisan agency that provides critical financial analysis to Congress, has reportedly been breached by foreign hackers in what sources are calling a major cyberattack.
The incident, which occurred in recent days, “potentially expos[ed] the key financial research data Congress uses to craft legislation,” according to The Washington Post.
“Officials discovered the incursion in recent days and now worry that communications between lawmakers’ offices and nonpartisan researchers could have been accessed by an adversary or one of its digital proxies, as well as internal email and office chat logs,” several sources told The Post.
The CBO plays a central role in shaping U.S. fiscal policy. Any compromise of its systems or data could have serious implications, potentially giving foreign actors insight into legislative priorities or internal deliberations.
CBO spokeswoman Caitlin Emma said, “The Congressional Budget Office has identified the security incident, has taken immediate action to contain it, and has implemented additional monitoring and new security controls to further protect the agency’s systems going forward. The incident is being investigated and work for the Congress continues. Like other government agencies and private sector entities, CBO occasionally faces threats to its network and continually monitors to address those threats.”
The breach highlights the vulnerability of even the most carefully monitored government agencies in the face of sophisticated cyber threats. While the CBO works to contain the situation, questions remain about the full extent of the intrusion and what measures will be taken to prevent future attacks.
