T

he cyber-rivalry of Russia and the U.S. is well known. Turning this rivalry into a more bitter soup, Russian hackers are being suspected to be the masterminds behind a new attack. The U.S. officials from Pentagon have told NBC News that Pentagon’s Joint Staff unclassified email system faced a sophisticated cyberattack. The attack has been shut down and network has been taken offline for nearly two weeks. This cyber attack occurred around July 25, affecting about 4,000 military and civilian personnel working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

This intrusion relied on an automated system that downloaded large chunks of data and then distributed it to the numerous different accounts on the web. It’s also suspected that the Russian hackers used encrypted social media accounts to launch and coordinate this sophisticated attack. Officials told that the attack involved “new and unseen approaches into the network.” It should be noted that in the past, the States has seen Russian hackers deploying attacks on the White House and institutions.

The Pentagon officials weren’t much clear about the authority who sanctioned the attack – whether it was the Russian government, or some individual. But, looking at the scale and scope of the attack, the officials said, “It was clearly a work of a state actor.”

However, the officials said that in this Russian hacking attack, no classified information was leaked and only unclassified information regarding accounts and emails was hacked.

Since, the July 25 attack, the entire Joint Chiefs email system has been offline. Officials added that the system would be back online before the end of this week. The Pentagon is working day and night to ensure that the system is once again secure when it goes live. This Russian hacking attack’s information is also being shared with other organisations and agencies to seek help and improve cybersecurity.

It should be noted that this isn’t the first Russian cyberattack faced by the U.S. In 2014, Russian hackers breached the White House network, accessing President Obama’s personal files and conversations.

Do you have something to add? Tell us in comments below.

For more updates and interesting stories, subscribe to fossBytes newsletter. [newsletter_signup_form id=1]