The hack of SolarWinds’ Orion network management system has implicated many U.S. government departments, and officials in Michigan, one of the contentious swing states in the 2020 election, recently confirmed that the state is using the Orion network management system.
Caleb Buhs, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, told the Epoch Times that Michigan is indeed using the Orion network management system.
Buhs said the network used by the State Department in the election was not connected to the Orion network management system.
A spokesman for the Michigan Department of State declined to provide any information about it.
At the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, we immediately removed the SolarWinds product from the network and have not yet reused it,” Booth added. The State of Michigan has conducted a forensic investigation and concluded that there was no indication of an attack on our systems.”
Networking company FireEye, one of the customers of Orion’s network management system, was a victim of the cyberattack, along with many other customers. fireEye said the hackers were able to access the company’s systems as soon as the customer uploaded the Orion update software to the network.
News of Michigan’s use of SolarWinds products was originally exposed by independent journalist Kyle Becker. Becker found in official documents from the state of Michigan in recent years that the state’s Department of Technology, Management and Budget was using SolarWinds network management software and tools.
Michigan is one of the key swing states for Republicans challenging the election results after Election Day on Nov. 3. One of the related allegations against the state is that thousands of votes were altered in Antrim County, where after verification, President Trump flipped a lead of more than 4,000 votes. State officials deny the allegations of election fraud, saying they are baseless.
SolarWinds is based in Texas. The information technology company’s data shows that nearly 18,000 customers installed updated software for Orion’s network management system and that many government department websites were hacked, including those of the Commerce and Treasury departments.
The Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity division ordered government departments using Orion’s network management system to disconnect immediately in early December, saying the cyberattack had begun in March and was backed by “advanced, persistent threat” hackers who “demonstrated patience, operational security and technical sophistication during the intrusion.
“It is extremely complex and difficult for agencies to remove this malware.” The Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity division said.
Some Trump administration officials and members of Congress believe Russia may have been behind the cyberattack, but President Trump said China (the Chinese Communist Party) may be largely responsible.
SolarWinds customers include the U.S. military branch, as well as many government departments, including the Office of the President, and 425 companies in the Fortune 500.
SolarWinds CEO (Kevin Thompson) said Dec. 18 that the spotlight is on how the company is responding to the attack. “If the cyber attack still persists at this time, the hackers will likely compromise the servers used to run Orion’s products.”
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