The computers in the U.S. House of Representatives are hit by cyberattacks a staggering 1.6 billion times a month, with many of the assaults starting on the “dark web,” making protection difficult.
According to Philip G. Kiko, the chief administrative officer, the House has become ground zero for cyber assaults of all types, but he said that the protections in place — updated regularly — are so far doing the trick.
Still, the number of hacks is stunning.
At a House hearing this week, he spelled them out: “In just one month, the CAO blocks an estimated 1.6 billion unauthorized scans, probes, and connections aimed at the House and an average of 12.6 million questionable emails to thwart phishing attacks from reaching intended targets.”
It prompted an unprecedented defense that last year included 615,000 “patches” and 3,000 malicious indicators to over 16,000 network-connected devices including phones and tablets across the country to counter the threats.
He even suggested who is likely to blame: “The House is undoubtedly a target of private and state-sponsored criminal cyberactivity and maintaining a strong cyberdefense program is a paramount responsibility for the CAO.”
The numbers shocked House Administration Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin from the tech-savvy Maryland suburbs.
He told Kiko that he was “staggered by those numbers.”
But Kiko said, “This is sort of a constant kind of thing.”
He said many start on the “dark web,” making it hard to stop at the source.
