WASHINGTON (AP) –
The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it is one of the federal agencies affected by a massive breach of government networks that US officials linked to Russia.
The extent of the damage was unclear. The department said 3% of its Microsoft Office 365 email accounts may be affected, but did not say to whom the accounts belong. There are no indications that the classified systems have been affected, the agency said.
According to a statement from spokesman Marc Raimondi, on December 24, the department discovered a previously unknown malicious activity related to the broader intrusions of federal agencies.
The statement comes a day after federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies formally involved Russia in the incursions, which officials said were part of a suspected intelligence-gathering operation. President Donald Trump earlier without proof raised the idea that China could be to blame.
The burglary campaign was extraordinarily large, and the intruders searched for months by government agencies, defense contractors and telecommunications companies when the offense was discovered. Experts believe that the foreign agents gave enough time to collect data that would do a lot of damage to the US national security, although the extent of the violations and exactly what information was requested is unknown.
An estimated 18,000 organizations were affected by malicious code used on popular network management software in Austin, Texas, called SolarWinds. Of the customers, however, a much smaller number have been compromised by subsequent activities on their systems’, reads the statement, noting that so far less than ten federal government agencies fall into this category.