The U.S. federal government’s information security unit confirmed today that a massive cyber espionage attack on the U.S. was revealed earlier this month, and that the affected targets also included state and local governments; no further details were disclosed.
Reuters reported that the cyberattack used the U.S. technology company SolarWinds as a springboard to hack into the federal government’s network.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement on its website today that the attack “affected corporate networks of federal, state and local governments, as well as some critical infrastructure units and other private organizations.
CISA confirmed last week that the attack affected U.S. government agencies, critical infrastructure units and civil society organizations, but did not specify whether they were state or local government agencies. So far, only a few units of the U.S. federal government, including the Departments of Treasury, Commerce and Energy, have officially confirmed that they are affected.
CISA did not specify which state or local government agencies were affected today. Reporters seeking more details by email have not yet received a response.
Reuters previously reported that Pima County, Arizona, was among the victims of the hacking attack. Pima County government has not responded to a text message sent last night seeking comment.
The Pima County government’s chief information officer previously told Reuters that his team had uninstalled the SolarWinds software as soon as the attack came to light and that investigators had not found any further evidence of victimization.
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