U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview Friday night that he believes Russia is behind a hacked hack. Dozens of federal agencies and companies, Including the cyber security company FireE.
Speaking on the “Mark Levine Show”, Pompeo said the initiative was tied to Russia.
“I can not say much because we have not opened it yet precisely, and I hope some of it will be categorized,” Pompeo said. “This is a very significant initiative. I think we can now make it clear that it was the Russians who were involved in this operation.”
When asked if President Donald Trump would speak during the trial, he sometimes said, “The smartest way to protect the American people is to go quiet about your business and defend freedom.”
Fire I, the leading cyber security company in the United States with extensive government contracts, first The hack was revealed earlier this month. In a company Website, CEO Kevin Mandia called it “a nation’s attack with high-level offensive capabilities.” He later said the hackers’ primary goal was to steal information from the company’s government customers.
Preliminary indications are that investigators from the FBI’s cyber unit “have a high degree of sophistication that is compatible with a national government.”
It seems that hackers were the first to access computer systems at Austin-based Solar Winds, which provides remote information technology services. Long list Customers around the world, including many US government agencies and large corporations.
The U.S. Cyber Security and Infrastructure Protection Agency has issued an urgent order to federal agencies to immediately stop using the version of Solar Winds products.
Cyberadocus started in early March, but was only discovered this month. Many of the targets are government agencies, companies that contract with governments, or think tanks. Information and technology companies have also been affected, Microsoft said.
Members of the Homeland Security and Oversight Committee said on Friday they had been briefed on the matter but had “more questions than answers”.
“After receiving a classified member’s explanation today about a major hack for government agencies from the Trump administration, more questions remain than answers,” the group leaders said in a statement. “Even in the midst of an unprecedented cyber attack, the administration does not want to share the full range of implications for our national security, victims’ violations and identities with foresight.”
Foreign Ministry officials confirmed on Friday that the last two remaining US embassies in Russia would be closed in the far-eastern Russian city of Vladivostok and in Yekaterinburg, east of the Ural Mountains. In a statement, a spokesman said the decision was made “to improve the work of the US mission in Russia.”
“As a result, the reorganization of the US Embassy in Moscow will allow us to advance our foreign policy interests in Russia in a more effective and secure manner,” the statement read in part.
Ken Dylanian and Abigail Williams Contributed.
