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European Commission 'analysing situation' after US cyberattack by Staff Writers Brussels (AFP) Dec 19, 2020
The European Commission said Saturday it had not found any computer system intrusion following revelations of a massive cyberattack on US government and other networks, but was "analysing the situation". The EU executive "is aware of the global software supply chain cyber threat" via hacked software supplied by US tech company SolarWinds but " we have not detected any impact on our systems," a spokesman said. An EU official told AFP that the Commission has "only one instance" of SolarWinds' software in its systems and "it was not impacted by the incident". Microsoft said Thursday that its anti-virus defences found dozens of networked systems running the software had been compromised, most of them in the US but also in seven other countries including Belgium, home to the European Commission. The US has blamed Russia for the cyberattack, but Moscow denies involvement. NATO, which is also headquartered in Belgium, said it, too, was checking its systems, some of which use SolarWinds software, but had found "no evidence of compromise" so far. SolarWinds said up to 18,000 customers, including government agencies and Fortune 500 companies, had downloaded compromised software updates, allowing hackers to spy on email exchanges.
NATO checking systems after US cyberattack "At this time, no evidence of compromise has been found on any NATO networks. Our experts continue to assess the situation, with a view to identifying and mitigating any potential risks to our networks," a NATO official told AFP. Microsoft said Thursday its anti-virus software detected intrusions in dozens of networked systems, most of them in the United States, via software supplied by US tech company SolarWinds. The NATO official said the Belgium-headquartered organisation used SolarWinds software in some of its systems. "NATO also has cyber rapid reaction teams on standby to assist Allies 24 hours a day, and our Cyberspace Operations Centre is operational," said the official, who was not identified in line with NATO's policy. Microsoft president Brad Smith in a blog post on Thursday said the hack was the most concerning of several "nation-state attacks" seen this year. He added that, outside the US, networks in seven other countries were affected -- in Belgium, Britain, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Spain and the United Arab Emirates -- and "it's certain that the number and location of victims will keep growing". US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said "we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity". Russia denied involvement. SolarWinds said up to 18,000 customers, including government agencies and Fortune 500 companies, had downloaded compromised software updates, allowing hackers to spy on email exchanges.
Massive cyberattack grows beyond US, heightening fears Washington (AFP) Dec 18, 2020 A devastating cyberattack on US government agencies has also hit targets worldwide, with the list of victims still growing, according to researchers, heightening fears over computer security and espionage. Microsoft said late Thursday that it had notified more than 40 customers hit by the malware, which security experts say came from hackers linked to the Russian government and which could allow attackers unfettered network access. "While roughly 80 percent of these customers are located in the ... read more
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