State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Three states affected in suspected Russian hack

StateScoop: At least three state governments were compromised in a widespread hacking operation that’s also swept up much of the federal government and that U.S. authorities believe is the work of Russian government-backed actors, it was reported Thursday.

According to Bloomberg News, three state governments joined several federal agencies — including the departments of Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security and Energy — where hackers were able to access systems by exploiting network monitoring software from SolarWinds. The report did not identify the compromised state governments. Officials have pinned the operation, which was first reported Sunday, on a hacking group known alternatively as APT29 or Cozy Bear, which is linked to the SVR, the Kremlin’s foreign intelligence bureau.

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