Port of Houston Target of Suspected Nation-State Hack
A major U.S. port was the target last month of suspected
nation-state hackers, according to officials.
The Port of Houston, a critical piece of infrastructure
along the Gulf Coast, issued a statement Thursday saying it had successfully
defended against an attempted hack in August and “no operational data or
systems were impacted.”
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director
Jen Easterly initially disclosed that the port was the target of an attack at a
Senate committee hearing Thursday morning. She said she believed a
“nation-state actor” was behind the hack, but did not say which one.
“We are working very closely with our interagency partners
and the intelligence community to better understand this threat actor so that
we can ensure that we are not only able to protect systems, but ultimately to
be able to hold these actors accountable,” she said.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said the hack was “concerning” and
said the U.S. needed to “push back against these nation-state actors who
continue to probe and to commit these crimes against our public and private
sector entities."
The hack involved ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus, a
password management program. Easterly's agency, the FBI and the U.S. Coast
Guard issued a joint advisory last week warning that the vulnerability in the
software “poses a serious risk” to critical infrastructure companies, defense
contractors and others.
Cybersecurity has become a key focus of the Biden
administration. A devastating wave of cyberattacks has compromised sensitive
government records and at times led to the shutdown of the operations of energy
companies, hospitals and schools.
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