The Library of Congress announced that hackers had breached its communications systems and had access to email correspondence between congressional offices and library staff from January to September of this year. The library, which provides research services to Congress, gave over 76,000 custom responses to inquiries last year. The software vulnerability that allowed the hackers access has been addressed, and the matter has been referred to law enforcement for further investigation.
The notice did not identify who was behind the hack, using the term “the adversary” instead. Countries with strong cyber espionage capabilities, such as the United States, China, and Russia, often target government networks and communications to gather intelligence. In the past, Russian hackers were accused of infiltrating a software made by SolarWinds, granting them access to multiple U.S. agencies and private companies. China has also been accused of cyberespionage, including hacking American telecommunications companies to spy on political campaigns and Senator Chuck Schumer’s staff.
The Russian Embassy in D.C. denied the accusations, while a Chinese Embassy spokesperson declined to comment. The breach at the Library of Congress highlights the ongoing threat of cyberattacks from foreign entities seeking to gather sensitive information.
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