Russian Hackers who appear to be part of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR have gained access to multiple U.S. agencies and private companies, several news outlets reported Sunday.
The Washington Post reported that officials at the Commerce Department confirmed the breach, saying it occurred at an unidentified bureau.
The officials alerted the FBI and a cybersecurity agency within the Department of Homeland Security, according to the report.
The White House National Security Council also confirmed that it was looking into another potential intrusion at the Treasury Department after Reuters reported that foreign government-backed hackers accessed internal government emails.
Among the SVR’s targets was FireEye, a major U.S. cybersecurity company with extensive government contracts, the Post reported. The firm’s CEO said last week that it had been hacked “by a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities.”
Citing a private cybersecurity official briefed on the matter, an NBC News report confirmed the SVR’s involvement in the operation.
It wasn’t clear how much information the hackers accessed, though the company said they obtained tools used by FireEye’s “Red Team,” or the section tasked with defending against new cyber attacks.
The Post reported that the Commerce Department breach targeted Solar Winds, an information technology system used by tens of thousands of organizations.
The FBI and National Security Agency declined to comment on the report.
