Hackers working for the Russian government stole details of how the US penetrates foreign computer networks and defends against cyberattacks after a National Security Agency contractor removed the highly classified material and put it on his home computer. The news was reported this past Thursday by the Wall Street Journal, which cited “multiple people with knowledge of the matter.”
The breach, considered the most serious in years, could enable Russia to evade NSA surveillance and more easily infiltrate U.S. networks, wrote the US newspaper.
The hackers appear to have targeted the contractor after identifying the files through the contractor’s use of a popular antivirus software made by Russia-based Kaspersky Lab, WSJ learned from its unnamed sources.
Kaspersky Lab, which has been repeatedly exposed to accusations of cooperating with or being infiltrated by the Russian secret service, staunchly denies any ties with the Russian government.
