US nuclear weapons agency breached in 'worst-ever' cyber attack

NEW YORK – The US energy department is the latest target of what is being termed as the worst-ever cyber attack on the US government.

The department, which is responsible for manage US nuclear weapons, has also confirmed the breach. It, however, said that the arsenal's security had not been compromised in the hack.

Many suspect the Russian government is behind the breach but it has denied any involvement in it.

US energy department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said that "the malware has been isolated to business networks only," adding that the functions at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which oversees US nuclear weapons, remained unharmed.

US President-elect Joe Biden has announced to place cyber-security at top of the priorities in his administration.

"We need to disrupt and deter our adversaries from undertaking significant cyber-attacks in the first place," Biden said, adding: "We will do that by, among other things, imposing substantial costs on those responsible for such malicious attacks, including in coordination with our allies and partners."

America's top cyber agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (Cisa) on Thursday issued a stark warning in this regard, besides revealing that critical infrastructure had been damaged in the cyber attack, which began in March 202.

Earlier this month, the treasury and commerce departments of the US were targeted in a cyber attack. Email systems and other infrastructure were breached at these departments.