US political leaders are right to be alarmed by the startling disclosure that for nine months an extended, undetected Russian cyber attack penetrated the heart of government in Washington. The National Nuclear Security Administration in the Energy Department that oversees the US nuclear stockpile, the Pentagon, Homeland Security and Treasury were affected. Democratic congressman Jason Crow, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the infiltration was “unprecedented in scale and scope” and “our modern-day cyber Pearl Harbor”. Dick Durbin, the second-most senior Democrat in the Senate, said the attack was “virtually a declaration of war”. Republican senator Mitt Romney said it was “the equivalent of Russian bombers flying undetected over the entire country” since March.
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The Australian: Russia’s aggressive cyber warfare
A Russian flag flies next to the US embassy building in Moscow on Oct. 22, 2018.
