• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
    • Secure360
    • UMSA
    • Get Involved
  • Events
    • Secure360 2021
    • Student360
    • Past Events
      • 2020 Secure360 Twin Cities
      • 2020 Student360
      • 2019 Secure360 Twin Cities
      • 2019 Student360
      • 2018 Secure360 Twin Cities
      • 2018 Secure360 Wisconsin
      • 2018 Student360
      • 2017 Secure360 Twin Cities
      • 2017 Student360
      • 2016 TC Secure360 Conference
      • 2015 Secure360 Conference
      • 2014 Secure360 Conference
      • 2013 Secure360 Conference
        • 2013 Secure360 Conference Speaker Presentations
      • 2012 Secure360 Conference
  • For Sponsors
    • Secure360 Twin Cities
    • Student360 Sponsors
  • For Speakers
    • Secure360 Speaker Details
    • Student360 Speaker Details
  • Blog
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Vimeo

Secure360

Hackers are everywhere…even inside the US government

June 6, 2016 by Secure360 and UMSA

us government hack

Copyright: Pixabay

In April, the US government admitted in an alert that hackers have been inside government systems for years, and it is likely they are still there. This group of malicious cyber hackers is known as APT6 and is believed to be ‘state sponsored,’ but the reality is that the US government has no idea. These expert cyber criminals have access to the most sensitive data held in government networks around the nation and they have also targeted countless corporate and private networks throughout the westernized world.

The alert shows that foreign government hackers are still successfully hacking and stealing data from US government’s servers, and it came just months after the US government revealed that a group of hackers, widely believed to be working for the Chinese government, had infiltrated the computer systems of the Office of Personnel Management for over a year. They stole highly sensitive data about several millions of government workers and even spies.

The hack apparently dates back to 2011, though it may be linked to attacks on the U.S. government’s computer infrastructure originating in 2008. The domains controlled by the hackers were “suspended” in late December 2015, but it’s unclear if the hackers have been pushed out or they are still sitting within those hacked networks.

“They Could be Anywhere and Everywhere…”

If these hackers were able to sit within the government systems for over 4 years without being caught, it’s a little unsettling to imagine what other systems they have managed to hack into. Michael Adams, an information security expert who served more than two decades in the US Special Operations Command explains, “Anybody who’s been in that network all this long, they could be anywhere and everywhere.” This alert shows that the US government still is not in control of what’s going on inside its most sensitive networks.

APT6 is “likely a nation-state sponsored group based in China which has been dormant for the past several years.” There isn’t much public literature about the group, other than a couple of old reports, but APT6, which stand for Advanced Persistent Threat 6, is a codename given to a group believed to be working for the Chinese government. It is assumed that there is likely an FBI investigation underway, but at this point, it’s unclear whether the FBI’s investigation will lead to any concrete result. But two years after the US government charged five Chinese military members for hacking US companies, it’s clear hackers haven’t given up attacking US targets.

Filed Under: News and Events, Cybersecurity, Risk and Compliance

About Secure360 and UMSA

The Secure360 and UMSA team is made up of professionals in the security and risk management industries. Topics of expertise range from physical security, IT, risk management, cybersecurity, cloud, information security and records management.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Uncategorized
  • Guest Posts
  • Business Continuity Management
  • News and Events
  • Physical Security
  • Cybersecurity
  • Professional Development
  • Risk and Compliance

latest tweets

  1. Marketing Envy
    Marketing Envy: [New Blog] 2020 saw in-person conferences evaporate, but with vaccines rolling out, 2021 could be different. H… https://t.co/4YONwZNsDa
    about 6 days ago

  2. Secure360 Conference
    Secure360 Conference: We are honored to be listed on the Top 20 Cyber Conferences for 2021 -> https://t.co/MnrQ3E5ifw
    about 1 week ago

Footer

Contact

For more information about UMSA events, contact: Marie Strawser

Email List Signup

Join our email list for monthly Secure360 news and updates!




Join our tradeshow email list for updates on sponsorship opportunities and upcoming exhibitor deadlines.

Sponsored by:
© 2021 Secure360. All rights reserved.