Capitol attack's cybersecurity fallout: Stolen laptops, lost data and possible espionage
The January 6 attack on Election Day certification proceedings in the US Capitol Building has deep cybersecurity ramifications.
FBI is seeking certain people of interest. See notice at the end of this article.
When hostile actors penetrated the Capitol Building on January 6, they gained access to individual chambers and offices and remained at large within the Capitol complex for well over two hours.
We have reports that items were stolen. One report comes from acting US Attorney for DC, Michael Sherwin, who stated "items, electronic items were stolen from senators' offices, documents and ... we have to identify what was done to mitigate that." My local Senator, Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), reported that at least one laptop had been stolen.
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Amid stolen laptops, lost data and potential espionage, the cybersecurity consequences of this attack will take months to sort out. Here's a look at the cybersecurity issues.
National security issues
While surveillance undoubtedly tracked many of the hundreds who made it inside the building, we cannot assume we know the exact second-by-second movements of everyone who gained entrance. That means there is absolutely no knowing what actions were taken against digital gear inside the building.
Passwords, documents, access codes, and confidential or secret information may have been stolen. We also need to assume that some computers may have been compromised, with malware loaded onto them. Since malware is key to any systemic penetration, we must assume that bad actors have gained some persistent, hidden, ongoing access to Capitol Building systems.
In all likelihood, only a small number of machines were probably compromised. But given the sensitive nature of information stored on digital gear inside the Capitol, and given that it may be impossible to quickly ascertain which devices were compromised, federal IT personnel must assume that ALL the digital devices at the Capitol have been compromised.
The situation is actually worse than it may appear at first. According to a USA Today timeline, Congress reconvened at 8pm on January 6. It's likely that staff computer use began mere minutes after Congress reconvened. Obviously, there was no way to completely lift and replace thousands of machines instantly. Therefore, from that moment until now, members and their staff have been using digital devices that may have been compromised. That means that all communications, files, and network connections from and to those devices may have also been compromised.
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