Hacktivist group Anonymous has stolen sensitive data in a year-long campaign against government computers, FBI says
Hacktivist group Anonymous has been using a flaw in Adobe Systems' software to launch a year-long campaign against U.S. government computers, according to an FBI memo.
The memo, which was obtained and reported exclusively by news agency Reuters, states that Anonymous was able to create multiple "back doors" to government systems, enabling the group to return repeatedly to steal sensitive data as recently as last month.
The campaign is continuing, and the memo, distributed last Thursday, warns agencies to check their systems for possible compromises. The U.S. Army, Department of Energy, and Department of Health and Human Services are among the agencies that have been hacked, according to the Reuters report.
According to an internal email from Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz' chief of staff, Kevin Knobloch, the stolen data included personal information on at least 104,000 employees, contractors, family members, and others associated with the Department of Energy, along with information on almost 20,000 bank accounts, Reuters reports.
Officials linked the attacks to the case of Lauri Love, a British resident indicted Oct. 28 for allegedly hacking into multiple U.S. government agencies via a vulnerability in Adobe's ColdFusion software, which is used to build websites.
Have a comment on this story? Please click "Add a Comment" below. If you'd like to contact Dark Reading's editors directly, send us a message.
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like
Guarding the Cloud: Top 5 Cloud Security Hacks and How You Can Avoid Them
April 4, 2024Cybersecurity Strategies for Small and Med Sized Businesses
April 11, 2024Defending Against Today's Threat Landscape with MDR
April 18, 2024Securing Code in the Age of AI
April 24, 2024
Black Hat USA - August 3-8 - Learn More
August 3, 2024Cybersecurity's Hottest New Technologies: What You Need To Know
March 21, 2024Black Hat Asia - April 16-19 - Learn More
April 16, 2024