Hackers Used Mysterious E-Mail to Hack Government Computers

A new report suggests last summer’s break-in targeting State Department computers happened when an employee opened an unknown e-mail, unwittingly letting hackers into the government’s network.

The Associated Press is reporting the first public account of the intrusion says a State Department employee in Asia opened a mysterious e-mail that was part of an elaborate ploy “by sophisticated international hackers. They used a secret break-in technique that exploited a design flaw in Microsoft software.”

Donald R. Reid, the senior security coordinator for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, also confirmed to AP that hackers stole a limited amount of government data until tripwires severed all the State Department’s Internet connections throughout eastern Asia. Reid testified last week at a cybersecurity hearing for a House Homeland Security subcommittee.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, told AP hackers are no longer considered harmless, bored teenagers. “These are experienced, sophisticated people who are trying to exploit our vulnerabilities and gain access to our information,” Thompson told AP.

AP says the “mysterious State Department e-mail appeared to be legitimate and included a Microsoft Word document with material from a congressional speech related to Asian diplomacy.”