Numerous American agencies have fallen victim to a widespread cyberattack in recent weeks, alongside numerous companies and organizations. The attack exploited an undisclosed vulnerability in popular file sharing software.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the primary civilian cybersecurity watchdog in the United States, is currently investigating the extent of the breaches. Eric Goldstein, the executive assistant director of CISA, stated that they are providing assistance to multiple federal agencies affected by the intrusions. Their focus is to rapidly assess the impacts and implement timely solutions.

The hackers took advantage of a weakness in MOVEit, a widely used program for fast file transfers. Charles Carmakal, the chief technology officer at Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm owned by Google, confirmed that federal agencies had experienced data theft due to the MOVEit hacks.

At present, it remains unclear whether the stolen files contained sensitive information or if the hackers caused disruptions within government systems. CNN was the first to report CISA's statement.

This incident marks the third occurrence in as many years where foreign hackers have successfully infiltrated multiple federal agencies to steal data. In 2020, Russian intelligence-affiliated hackers breached nine agencies by exploiting software developed by a Texas-based company known as SolarWinds. The following year, Chinese intelligence hackers infiltrated additional agencies via a remote work program called Pulse Secure.

During an interview with NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, CISA Director Jen Easterly identified the hackers as a well-known ransomware group that the agency has been actively monitoring.