The alleged Russian hackers behind the sophisticated SolarWinds cyberattack gained access to email accounts belonging to the head of the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and cybersecurity staff whose responsibilities included “hunting” for threats from other countries, according to a report by the Associated Press (AP). Specifically, the information states that the compromised accounts belong to then-acting Secretary Chad Wolf, who was appointed by Donald Trump in November 2019, as well as DHS officials responsible for identifying threats from foreign adversaries.
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The report, released on March 29, says alleged Russian hackers compromised the email accounts of members of the Trump administration, whose job it was to catch the hackers behind the devastating attack on SolarWinds, which affected numerous entities in the U.S. Sources said in February that DHS was among the targets of the attackers, whose attacks hit at least nine federal agencies and 100 private companies. The hackers used malware embedded in software made by SolarWinds, while also exploiting vulnerabilities in software from other companies, aiming to compromise a variety of systems.
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The SolarWinds hack came to light in December 2020, when security experts from FireEye, Microsoft, and Crowdstrike discovered various malware strains on their customers’ corporate systems. The hackers embedded the malware in a legitimate update to popular programs made by SolarWinds, a Texas-based IT software maker. Thousands of companies and government agencies installed the update, and the hackers then focused on a smaller subset of targets.
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The Biden administration appears to be thoroughly examining the SolarWinds case, and may be preparing retaliation in response to Russia for this criminal act.
DHS has not yet commented on the matter. According to the AP, Wolf and other officials used the encrypted messaging app “Signal” on new phones to communicate in the days after the attack.
