The US Department of Energy has been hacked 159 times over 4 years! – The US Department of Energy is a significant target for cyber‑spies groups
Between 2010 and 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy was attacked by unknown individuals 159 times, according to a USA Today article based on documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Thedocuments show information submitted by federal employees and third parties, and do not reveal in-depth details about the source or type of information stolen.
The data collected by the Joint Cybersecurity Coordination Center only shows the date of the attack, the office where it took place, the current status of the incident, and what the type of attack was (malicious code, compromised user/root accounts, denial of service, Web defacement, unauthorized use).
1,131 incidents over 4 years
From October 2010 to October 2014, the US Dept. of Energy recorded 1,131 attacks on its infrastructure, of which 159 were successful.
The Department of Energy is a coveted target mainly because it gathers information about the US energy system, energy consumption, energy infrastructure, but also many studies that have been carried out.
Furthermore, the ministry also has multiple responsibilities in setting the country's energy policies, a fact that makes the service very attractive to cyber‑espionage groups.
Within the U.S. Department of Energy there is also the National Nuclear Security Administration, a self‑governing organization with many ties to the U.S. Army, which is responsible for managing the country's nuclear weapons stockpiles.
According to the documents, 19 successful attacks occurred on the IT during the aforementioned period.
State-sponsored cyber espionage groups are likely the main culprits
Most of the attacks, 90 out of the total 159, targeted the Office of Science of the Ministry, and were the most up-to-date scientific research in the field of nuclear energy.
Additionally, 53 of the 159 attacks were root compromises, which require high-level exploit kits and advanced knowledge of many cybersecurity and IT topics.
This only serves to reinforce the general view that most of these attacks are carried out by state-sponsored cyber-espionage groups.
