BRUSSELS – NATO on Saturday said it was examining its computer systems following a massive cyberattack on U.S. government agencies and others that Washington blamed Moscow.
“At this time, no evidence of compromise has been found on any NATO networks. Our experts are continuing to assess the situation, with a view to identifying and mitigating any potential threats to our networks, ”a NATO official told AFP.
Microsoft said Thursday that its anti-virus software detected crashes in dozens of network systems, mostly in the United States, through software provided by U.S. tech company SolarWinds.
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A NATO official said the group with headquarters in Belgium was using SolarWinds software in some of their systems.
“NATO also has cyber rapid response teams to support allies 24 hours a day, and our Cyberspace Operations Center is operational,” said the official, who has not been identified in line with NATO policy.
Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, in Washington, on May 29, 2020. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon)
Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a blog post Thursday that the hack was the biggest concern of several “national state attacks” seen this year.
He also said that, outside the US, networks in seven other countries – Belgium, Britain, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Spain and the United Arab Emirates – have been affected and “he is confident that the number and location of victims is growing. ”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday “we can say very clearly that the Russians were involved in this activity.”
Russia has denied interest.
SolarWinds said up to 18,000 customers, including government agencies and Fortune 500 companies, had downloaded negotiation software updates, allowing spies to spy on mail exchanges. d.