• March 28, 2024

FBI: Entirety of US gov’t has been hacked, leading to ‘unprecedented’ collaboration with industry

Every sector of the United States government has likely been hacked at some point, according to the FBI, which has lent to “unprecedented” partnerships with private industry to protect financial interests targeted by “a wide range of cyber adversaries.”

Reuters / Hyungwon Kang
Reuters / Hyungwon Kang

Top cybersecurity officials in the federal government told a Senate panel on Wednesday that high-profile cyberattacks on major retailers such as Target and Home Depot have been a topic of major concern for the US Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other counterterrorism units.

“The bottom line is, we’re losing a lot of data, money and innovation” to cyber breaches, said Robert Anderson, executive assistant director for the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services branch.

Anderson added that “spies, transnational organized criminals, terrorists and hacktivist groups” are the four general categories of cyber opponents that pose challenges to US government interests.

“We’re engaging in an unprecedented level of collaboration” with industry, international law organizations and other government bodies, Anderson said. Intra-government collaboration to counter terror threats — a prime goal since the attacks of September 11, 2001 — is at its peak, opined other witnesses at Wednesday’s hearing.

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