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12/14/2020 08:00 AM EST
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A Department of Commerce spokesperson confirmed the hack. We can confirm there has been a breach in one of our bureaus. We have asked CISA and the FBI to investigate, and we cannot comment further at this time, a spokesperson for Commerce told NBC News.
The hack was first reported by Reuters.
The hackers are suspected of targeting the Treasury Department as well as the Commerce Department s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, a U.S. agency that is tasked with crafting internet and telecommunications policy, Reuters reported.
The elaborate cyber hack that was launched on NTIA involved the organization s Microsoft Office 365 platform, according to Reuters. Microsoft declined to comment.
Washington
Hackers believed to be working for Russia have been monitoring internal email traffic at the United States Treasury Department and an agency that decides internet and telecommunications policy, according to people familiar with the matter.
There is concern within the U.S. intelligence community that the hackers who targeted Treasury and the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration used a similar tool to break into other government agencies, according to four people briefed on the matter. The people did not say which other agencies.
Three of the people familiar with the investigation said Russia is currently believed to be behind the attack.
It was reported yesterday evening that there has been a very serious breach by Russian hackers at both the US Treasury and Commerce departments. The hackers are believed to have spied on the US for months. The breach was so serious the National Security Council held an emergency meeting on Saturday:
FOX BUSINESS – The U.S. government has acknowledged reports that hackers backed by a foreign government have breached the U.S. Treasury Department and an agency within the Commerce Department.
“The United States government is aware of these reports and we are taking all necessary steps to identify and remedy any possible issues related to this situation,” National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot told FOX Business in a statement.