U.S. spent billions on system for detecting hacks, but Russians outsmarted it
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December 14, 2020
When Russian hackers first slipped their digital Trojan horses into federal government computer systems, probably in the spring, they sat dormant for days, doing nothing but hiding. Then the malicious code sprang into action and began communicating with the outside world.
At that moment when the Russian malware began sending transmissions from federal servers to command-and-control computers operated by the hackers an opportunity for detection arose, much as human spies behind enemy lines are particularly vulnerable when they radio home to report what they’ve found.
The Technology 202: Europe s proposed digital rules target Amazon, Facebook and other big tech companies Cat Zakrzewski
with Tonya Riley Europe’s proposed rules for online businesses would solidify its reputation as the world’s toughest tech regulator. The European Union yesterday unveiled a pair of proposals that could force tech companies to more aggressively police their platforms for harmful content and also put new restrictions on how large companies compete with smaller rivals. The rules carry fines with up to 10 percent of the companies’ global revenue, and repeated violations could force a breakup of the companies, my colleague Michael Birnbaum reports.
US Spent Billions On System To Detect Hacks. The Russians Outsmarted It. US Spent Billions On System To Detect Hacks. The Russians Outsmarted It. The Russians, whose operation was discovered this month by a cybersecurity firm that they hacked, were good.
Russia has denied involvement in the intrusions.
Washington:
When Russian hackers first slipped their digital Trojan horses into federal government computer systems, probably in the spring, they sat dormant for days, doing nothing but hiding. Then the malicious code sprang into action and began communicating with the outside world.
At that moment - when the Russian malware began sending transmissions from federal servers to command-and-control computers operated by the hackers - an opportunity for detection arose, much as human spies behind enemy lines are particularly vulnerable when they radio home to report what they ve found.
The U S government spent billions on a system for detecting hacks The Russians outsmarted it washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Russians, whose operation was discovered this month by a cybersecurity firm they hacked, were good. After initiating the hacks by corrupting patches of widely used network monitoring software, the hackers hid well, wiped away their tracks and communicated through IP addresses in the United States rather than ones in, say, Moscow, to minimise suspicions.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Hackers got into computers at the US Treasury Department and possibly other federal agencies, touching off a government response involving the National Security Council. The hackers also used novel bits of malicious code that apparently evaded the US government s multibillion-dollar detection system, Einstein, which focuses on finding new uses of known malware and detecting connections to parts of the Internet used in previous hacks.