The Department of Energy was the target of more than 150 network intrusions between 2010 and 2014, according to an investigation by USA Today reporters.
A review of incident reports obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests showed the department was targeted in more than 1,100 attempts over four years. At least 159 of those attempts successfully breached Energy’s network defenses.
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Of those successful attempts, 53 gave intruders administrative credentials within the department’s systems.
Department spokesmen declined to comment on whether any sensitive data was exfiltrated in the breaches or attribute the attacks to any specific persons or groups.
The documents obtained in the investigation show “a near-consistent barrage of attempts to breach the security of critical information systems that contain sensitive data about the nation’s power grid, nuclear weapons stockpile and energy labs,” writes USA Today reporter Steve Reilly.
Read the full story on USAToday.com.
A November 2014 inspector general report stated that the department was making progress shoring up its network security but significant work was still needed.
