Gofrixty [23 July 2025] – Hackers gained access on at least two occasions to the networks of the US nuclear weapons agency by compromising the systems of a US government contractor, according to the US government. The cyberattack focused on the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a development that rang alarms about security of critical infrastructure.
Federal agencies’ cybersecurity raisons d’être detecte suspicious activity in late June. They traced the breach to a flaw in the SharePoint software that Microsoft had not yet fixed. Attackers then moved through sensitive systems and collected classified information through that opening. The hackers are believed to have infiltrated a number of government departments, but the nuclear agency is the most troubling target.
DOE officials initiated a comprehensive probe and called in federal cybersecurity specialists to thwart the attack. They started disconnecting infected systems, monitoring intruders, and attempting to stop the bleeding. The authorities also notified Congress and briefed senior national security officials.
Security experts cited an increasing number of cyberattacks that use vulnerabilities in commonly used platforms, including SharePoint. The compromise is reminiscent of other large-scale breaches, in which Russian hackers penetrated American government agencies like the State and Treasury Departments, using technology from companies such as Microsoft and SolarWinds. Experts fault a slow patching of known vulnerabilities and call for agencies to update their defenses.
