Conservative Think Tank The Heritage Foundation Hit by Cyberattack: Investigation Ongoing

Quincy Cahilig, Tech Times 12 April 2024, 11:04 am

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think group, reported on Friday that it had been the target of a cyberattack earlier in the week.

Heritage is responding to the intrusion, a source said. However, the scope of any data leak is unknown. While investigating the issue, Heritage shut down its network to avoid future malicious activity.

Is The Cyberattack on Heritage Politically Motivated?

According to the report from TechCrunch, which also cited info from Politico, a Heritage Foundation official blamed nation-state hackers for the cyberattack but provided no evidence.Heritage spokesperson Noah Weinrich declined to comment on the matter.

Recently, the Heritage Foundation has accused the Biden administration of favoring ideological agendas over national interests in its State Department selections, a break from typical diplomatic nominations.

Heritage Senior Fellow Mike Gonzalez stated in his piece that Secretary of State Antony Blinken's decision to appoint Zakiya Carr Johnson as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer has raised questions about the administration's diversity efforts. Moreover, Johnson's mandate to promote diversity, equality, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) at the department has sparked questions about its usefulness in diplomatic circles.

The conservative think tank organization has criticized the Biden administration's staunch devotion to DEI ideals despite "the private sector seems to be running away from DEI with as much speed as it initially rushed into the embrace of these dubious trainings and practices." The opinion piece said recent corporate hostility toward DEI has shown its divisiveness and doubtful efficacy.

The Black Lives Matter movement, which inspired the 2020 societal unrest, spurred broad adoption of DEI across institutions.

The Heritage Foundation, founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., advocates and lobbies on conservative topics, influencing Republican politics. Like many notable think tanks, Heritage has been the target of hacking and espionage due to its ties to political and policymaking circles, many of which include former U.S. administration officials.

Heritage has had similar security breaches before, wherein hackers stole donor emails and personal data from the charity in 2015.

2020 Saw Sharp Rise In Global Cybercrime

(Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

In this photo illustration a young man types on an illuminated computer keyboard typically favored by computer coders on January 25, 2021 in Berlin, Germany.

US Government Agencies Under High-Risk

TechTimes recently reported that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) under the Department of Homeland Security has warned that the recent Russian data breach targeting Microsoft poses a major danger to U.S. federal organizations.

The CISA warns that accessing Microsoft's corporate email accounts and spying on agency-Microsoft communications poses an unprecedented risk to government institutions.

After the incident, CISA issued an unusual and legally obligatory request to multiple organizations to replace compromised login passwords and investigate any security breaches. On Thursday, the mandate became public, compelling recipients to enhance their measures against cyberattacks.

CISA advises agencies to review exfiltrated emails, reset compromised passwords, and secure privileged Microsoft Azure accounts.

The entire U.S. government uses Microsoft's Windows operating system, Outlook email, and other software, making it responsible for federal employees' cybersecurity. Thus, a Microsoft compromise might threaten national security.

CISA's warning follows Microsoft's January breach disclosure to the government and key corporate clients. The attack highlights cyber enemies' continued danger, even if it is unknown whether SVR hackers gained important material from the impacted entities.

The U.S. Cyber Safety Review Board has criticized Microsoft's security breaches and poor security culture. President Biden's report examined Microsoft's breach response shortcomings and stressed the need for the firm to improve its security culture and technology ecosystem vulnerabilities.