Dive Brief:
- The FBI reportedly sent out an alert earlier this week warning that a group of hackers "have compromised and stolen sensitive information from various government and commercial networks" since at least 2011, according to Motherboard.
- Security experts think APT6, a hacking group believed to be involved with the Chinese government, is to blame and that it infiltrated the networks years ago.
- The alert also said that the FBI "suspended" domains controlled by the hackers late last year, but it did not say whether or not the hackers are still inside the affected networks.
Dive Insight:
The FBI’s alert includes a list of websites the hackers used as a base to launch a series of phishing attacks, which could then further network access. With years of access, the organization could have an unfettered point of entry to a wide array of government servers and computers, security experts warned.
The FBI did not comment on the alert.
Though government agencies and enterprises alike are working to defend against cybersecurity attacks, new threats are rapidly evolving. Recent security studies revealed that cybercriminals are cooperating, working together beyond the bounds of language and geographic barriers.
The U.S. government faces an uphill battle with cybersecurity. Even with a 2017 budget calling for $19 billion in cybersecurity funding, and plans to hire the first federal Chief Information Security Officer later this year, the government faces systemic cybersecurity shortcomings.
