Microsoft has recently accepted that the Russian hackers who were behind the massive government security breach had gained access to the source code of the MS. After this, the US officials and the cyber-security experts are under huge pressure to explain how the hackers managed to infiltrate and infect various computer networks in the US. The systems of the Department of Homeland security, the state department, and the Treasury and commerce departments were accessed in the Solarwind attack through the Solarwind’s orion networking software used by the hackers. The cybersecurity experts are also concerned about the mitigation of the damage caused by the hacking.

The attack, also known as the Solarwinds attack (after the name  of the vendor, installation of whose application helped the hackers access the networks)  led to the visibility of the source code of Microsoft to the vendor-Solarwind, but the experts stated that the hackers could not change the source code. The fallout of the cyberattack is spawning questions like whether the cybersecurity agency in the USA is up for the specter of challenges posed by the hackers.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) had recently stated that it is working to patch the vulnerabilities in the US computer networks to prevent future cyberattacks. CISA is worried that the attacks can lead to susceptibilities of computer networks of public and private sector organizations.  The transition team of Biden and the Congressional Democrats are asking for more information on the hacking operation. They also asked the Trump administration to handle the situation and the concerns regarding the fallout of the attack which has led to the perception of a lack of transparency after the data breach was detected. The Biden-transition team has complained that it has been cornered by the Trump administration with regards to the impacts of the breach and resultant fallout. Biden’s associates are also piqued at the lack of transparency and communication from the administration of the outgoing President, in matters related to National security since the cyberattack and data breach were detected.

The Trump-team has stated that the complaints by the  Biden-team are exaggerated and underscored that they (Trump-team) are concerned that any transition activity could give a head start to the Biden-team in damaging the priorities of the current (outgoing) President. Till today, the White House has given very few details about the cyberattack, which is known as the most significant cyber-operation targeting the US in recent years. This week, the Senate Intelligence Committee expects to receive a briefing on the hack from Gen. Paul Nakasone, leader of both the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command. The fact that the SolarWinds attack had allowed the hackers to view the source code of Microsoft, stresses over the aspect that it might have been an operation of corporate espionage apart from being an assault on the cyberinfrastructure of the US government. Multiple sources have revealed that the CISA, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, does not have enough resources or funding to handle an attack of such a scale and magnitude. New Hampshire’s Chief Security officer Daniel Dister stated that the CISA has been overloaded by the work as per the law and has not been armed with the level of expertise as given to DoD, or NSA or CyberCom. Officials have stated that the Trump team is now apparently focusing on identifying the political ramifications and implications of the cyberattack on the current (outgoing) President.