US State Department shuts down computer systems after suspected hack
The US State Department has been forced to shut down its unclassified email system and public websites after “activity of concern” was detected.
The breach in the system, believed to be from hackers, follows a similar shut down in the White House last month. The United States Postal Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have also faced breaches recently, and it is currently unclear if all four are related.
A senior official at the State Department said: “This has impacted some of our unclassified email traffic and our access to public websites from our main unclassified system”. The official predicted that systems would be back up and running again soon.
The agency has said that the breach, which is believed to have been discovered on Friday 14 November, did not affect any of its classified systems.