Email Hacking Using MS Office Programs
Situation Serious, NSC Holds Countermeasure Meeting
Incident Occurred After President Trump Fired Homeland Security Cybersecurity Chief
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Hackers supported by foreign governments have been found to have hacked the emails of agencies under the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Commerce.
A major foreign news outlet reported on the 13th (local time) that a hacking incident occurred at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which decides policies related to the internet and communications.
There are concerns that there may be additional hacked agencies besides the NTIA, but officials did not disclose which agencies were affected.
The hacking is known to be related to Microsoft's business software 'Microsoft Office 365.' Emails of employees using this software were monitored by hackers for several months.
Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the White House immediately acknowledged the facts. John Elliott, NSC spokesperson, stated in a press release shortly after the report, "The U.S. government is taking all necessary measures to identify and rectify any issues related to this situation."
The NSC reportedly held a countermeasure meeting a day earlier upon recognizing the gravity of the incident.
In this regard, U.S. media pointed out that this incident occurred shortly after President Donald Trump dismissed Christopher Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at the Department of Homeland Security.
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