- Emails from the US Library of Congress reportedly compromised
- Attack was likely carried out by a foreign actor, experts claim
- US Government institutions are increasingly under attack
Email correspondence to and from staff at the US Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service have been compromised by a ‘foreign adversary’ in an elaborate hack, reports have claimed.
From January to September 2024, foreign actors have been able to access emails between congressional legislative staff and researchers, according to NBC News.
It’s not yet known exactly how many or which emails were accessed by the hackers, but Congress staff are concerned given the sensitive nature of communications between legislative staff and researchers.
Sensitive information
The Library of Congress is a research library that serves and has dedicated research staff to Congress, responding to over 76,000 inquiries in 2023. The staff offer policy and legal analysis to congressional committees, making it an invaluable resource.
Because of the nature of the library’s work, it’s likely that hackers had access to preliminary legislative proposals, or got unauthorized access to staffer’s opinions and ideas. Reports have confirmed that the US Copyright Office was not impacted.
The attack is said to have been carried out by a ‘foreign adversary’, although it’s not clear which nation actor was behind the breach as of yet. Cyberattacks from the ‘Big Four’ (Iran, Russia, China, and the DPRK) have all increased dramatically in the run up to the election, so investigators will likely be looking in these directions.
As of yet, the origin of the breach is unknown, but staff have been reminded of the phishing and email security guidance, suggesting this may have been the point of origin.
This isn’t the first time in recent months Congressional staff have had their data compromised, as in September 2024, it was revealed almost 3,200 US politicians and staff had their data leaked to the dark web, meaning nearly 20% of people working in Congress were exposed.