White House targeted in cyber attack
02 October, 2012
WASHINGTON: The White House's computer system was targeted in a cyber attack, a senior administration official said on Monday, but no classified systems were breached. There is no evidence that data was taken in the incident, the official said, adding that the attack was identified early and did not spread. The attack was described as "spear phishing" – the term for an attempted penetration using fake emails from a trusted sender – which the official said was "not infrequent". On Sunday, a report from a news website 'Freebeacon', that describes itself as an alternative to "the professional left" said that Chinese hackers had breached a White House military system. The White House would not identify the group responsible for the attack, or give specifics about its timing and target. "In this instance the attack was identified, the system was isolated, and there is no indication whatsoever that any data was extracted," the official said. "Moreover, there was never any impact or attempted breach of any classified system." End.
|
