US government claims Russia carried out cyber attack on Pentagon

Russian hackers broke into a Pentagon mail system late last month. The US government subsequently disabled the system as a precaution and disconnected it from the internet. NBC reports this based on sources within the US government.

The “advanced cyber intrusion” would have taken place around July 25, reports NBC. Until now, it was unknown who was behind the hack, but NBC sources now state that Russia is behind it. Incidentally, this does not mean that the attack was actually carried out on behalf of the Russian government. However, given the scale of the attack, according to the TV channel’s sources, it is the work of a country.

The sources of the American TV channel speak of an “advanced cyber attack” against the mail system of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military advisory body to the American government. Following the discovery, the system was disabled and taken offline, preventing the approximately 4,000 employees who work for the JCS from accessing their mailboxes.

It is unknown if any information was stolen and if so which. According to NBC, the attackers managed to collect huge amounts of data in a very short time without taking total control of the systems. This would not be classified information.