RUSSIAN HACKERS BROKE INTO U.S. TREASURY, COMMERCE DEP’TS

The Trump administration admitted on Sunday (Monday, December 14, 2020 in Manila) that hackers acting on behalf of Russia broke into a range of key government networks, including in the Treasury and Commerce Departments, and had free access to their email systems, the New York Times reported.

Officials said a hunt was on to determine if other parts of the government had been victimized. Several said a series of national security-related agencies were also affected, though it was not clear whether the systems contained highly classified material. "We can confirm there has been a breach in one of our bureaus," the Commerce Department said in a statement to CNN, Brian Fung reported on December 14, 2020. "We have asked CISA and the FBI to investigate, and we cannot comment further at this time."

Related Story: "U.S. Cybersecurity Firm FireEye Admits Attack, Theft of Its Hacking Tools"

The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also confirmed the data security incident, telling CNN in a statement, "We have been working closely with our agency partners regarding recently discovered activity on government networks." It added: "CISA is providing technical assistance to affected entities as they work to identify and mitigate any potential compromises," the statement continued.

Reuters was first to report on the data breach. The Washington Post reported Sunday that Russian government hackers targeted Commerce as well as the Treasury Department and other government agencies and the FBI is investigating and that the same Russia-linked group breached the elite cybersecurity firm FireEye, which just last week disclosed an attack compromising the so-called "Red Team" tools it uses to protect cybersecurity clients, including government customers.

CNN has previously reported the Russian-affiliated group, known as APT29, as the suspected culprit behind the FireEye breach, citing a person familiar with the matter.