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US State Department reportedly hit by cyber attack

Monday, 23 August 2021 1:29 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 23 August 2021 1:29 AM ]

The US State Department has reportedly come under a cyber attack with a possible breach of information.

The extent of the attack and whether it has affected any operations is not clear in the Fox Business report, citing anonymous sources.

A US State Department spokesman, meanwhile, refused to acknowledge that any cyber attacks had recently happened.

“The Department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to ensure information is protected,” a State Department spokesperson told The Hill in a statement. “For security reasons, we are not in a position to discuss the nature or scope of any alleged cybersecurity incidents at this time.”

China says US ‘empire of theft of secrets’, poses ‘biggest threat to global cybersecurity’

China brands the US as the “biggest threat to global cybersecurity” over its mass-scale cyber espionage.

The Biden administration has accused nations like Russia and China of harboring hackers behind the recent surge in cyber attacks in the US.

Hundreds of American companies were hit recently by the new ransomware attack, setting off alarm bells among US cybersecurity officials who have been increasingly rattled by a new wave of cybe rattacks targeting broad sectors of the US economy.

The latest attack on the US State Department undermines a recent report by a committee established by the US Congress, which concluded that the government has made “significant” progress in dealing with cyber threats over the past year although cyber threats are growing.

The alleged cyber attack was reported as the Us was engaged in withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan but that operation has “not been affected,” according to one of the sources cited in the report.

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