US State Department Hacked, Unclassified Email Services Compromised

Government agencies are prime targets for many hackers (particularly those funded by other governments), so it’s not surprising that the State Department was recently attacked. What makes the attack unusual is that it appears to have been successful, with unclassified systems being compromised, including possibly the State Department’s email system. What’s more, the State Department is the fourth government agency to suffer such a breach in recent weeks. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and United States Postal Service and White House have all been disrupted by recent hacking attempts.


So far, only unclassified systems have been compromised in each of the attacks, and the impact has been minimal, aside from the Postal Service, which may have given up info about certain customers and employees. Email and public website access was temporarily disrupted at the State Department after it detected “activity of concern.” The attack on the State Department seems to have taken place at the same time as the attack on the White House computer systems and may have been related. There is some debate about whether the entire string of attacks are connected to a single hacker or multiple groups. Both Chinese and Russian hackers have been suggested in reports, but none has been accused.