It is the most widespread cyber attack ever reported by the United States. Its consequences are being slowly revealed.


Among 18,000 individuals and entities affected by the hackers are at least 200 institutions and agencies linked with US government, according to US media.

Microsoft said more than 40 client organizations, 80 per cent of which are U.S.-based, were compromised.

The US agency for cyber and infrastructure security classified the latest hacker attack against the US government as a serious threat. The agency's IT experts warned that the erasure of the infected code from the systems would be "highly complex". The cyber-attack has lasted since at least March. The perpetrator or perpetrators have shown "patience, operational security, and complex craftsmanship". It is the most widespread cyber attack ever reported by the United States. Its consequences are being slowly revealed.

One U.S. official told The Associated Press it was "the worst hacking case in the history of America".

The hackers recovered unused domains and imitated legible users to log in into the updating system with access to the US government networks. Infected update transferred the Trojan-like files to the computers of US agencies and private firms. The files coded by the hackers appeared as a part of the operating system of the targeted computers. The hackers used these files to conduct various operations within the infiltrated systems.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said a suspected Russian hacking campaign targeting U.S. government agencies and international companies is "a moment of reckoning."

As much as anything, this attack provides a moment of reckoning, Smith wrote. It requires that we look with clear eyes at the growing threats we face and commit to more effective and collaborative leadership by the government and the tech sector in the United States to spearhead a strong and coordinated global cybersecurity response.



Communist China's and Russia's hackers could attack US government and private firms

But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accused Russia of being responsible for the large-scale cyberattack on American government institutions. It can be said "fairly clearly" that Russia is behind the attack, he said in a radio interview.

US Congressmen with access to classified information explained that both, Russia and China, could be behind the attack but the authorities did not reveal any information about the investigation.