The Department Of Energy Reports That It Was Hacked In January

Multiple companies have been reported in recent times as having been hacked, including Twitter, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Now the Department of Energy has stepped in and stated that it was hacked in the middle of January, with sensitive data being compromised. The information comes from a letter the agency sent out to its employees.

According to letter, the attacks resulted in the "unauthorized disclosure of employee and contractor Personally Identifiable Information." No information was provided about who is responsible for the hacks, however. The agency is actively, along with law enforcement, investigating the attack, and looking into what other information may have been compromised.

Although the information was provided in the form of a letter to employees, the agency has not stated anything official publicly. Spokespersons for the Department of Energy declined commenting on the issues. The agency was required by law to disclose when sensitive personal information has been compromised; according to the letter, no classified information was jeopardized.

This follows the disclosure of hacking attacks by several other companies and agencies. On Friday, we reported that Twitter had discovered a live hacking attempt, and that 250,000 accounts had been compromised. Meanwhile, the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal have all reported that they have undergone attacks by hackers in China.

[via Reuters]