Energy Department Hacked, ‘National Security Functions' Not Impacted: Spokesperson

The Department of Energy said that it was hacked by a malware injected into its networks after a SolarWinds update, but that its national security functions was not impacted, including for the agency that manages the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile.

"The investigation is ongoing and the response to this incident is happening in real time. At this point, the investigation has found that the malware has been isolated to business networks only, and has not impacted the mission essential national security functions of the Department, including the National Nuclear Security Administration."

The NNSA, a semi-autonomous agency within the Energy department, oversees the country's nuclear weapons stockpile and is responsible for strengthening the nation's security through military application of nuclear energy and reducing the global threat from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

Sen. Deb Fischer, chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, said in a statement after the revelation that she has "Great confidence in the safety and security of our nuclear weapons" but was "Troubled by reports that hackers accessed the National Nuclear Security Administration's network."

The FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence called the hacking campaign "Significant and ongoing" and have formed a group called the Cyber Unified Coordination Group to respond to the hack.

Dominion later altered the page to remove any reference to SolarWinds, but the SolarWinds website is still in the page's source code.

A security researcher said that Solarwinds was warned in 2019 that its software update server could be accessed using a simple password.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/energy-department-hacked-amid-solarwinds-compromise-mission-essential-national-security-functions-not-impacted-spokesperson_3623724.html