Hackers Compromise Thousands of Federal Agent Identities

TechCrunch reports that a group of hackers have breached at least three FBI websites and downloaded the names and personal information of thousands of federal agents and law enforcement officers from the servers. [techcrunch.com]

TechCrunch spoke to one of the hackers via an encrypted chat. “We hacked more than 1,000 sites,” said the hacker. “Now we are structuring all the data, and soon they will be sold. I think something else will publish from the list of hacked government sites.” We asked if the hacker was worried that the files they put up for download would put federal agents and law enforcement at risk. “Probably, yes,” the hacker said. Their end goal: “Experience and money,” the hacker said.

The hacker claimed to have used public exploits, “indicating that many of the websites they hit weren’t up-to-date and had outdated plugins.”

Who is accountable?: Where should the buck stop for this blatant incompetence, President Trump, or anyone suitable except him? He made a big deal of sloppy cybersecurity in the 2016 elections. But now in 2019, it doesn't look like Trump and/or his administration takes cybersecurity seriously. Is it reasonable to hold a president at least partly accountable for failures by their own administration?