According to CNN, the same Russian hackers who had recently hacked the State Department system have also hacked the White House computer system. The system which was hacked did not contain any sensitive information but the Russians did get access to the private schedule of the President. This attack including the previous one on the State Department system is being deemed as the worst cyber-attack on a federal agency.
The White House is familiar with cyber-attacks carried out by spies. Previously, the Chinese were involved in several high end attacks on the White House’s system including employee emails.
Government officials in the US are deeply concerned about the cyber threats from different countries. The director of the FBI told the senate that the Russian cyber threat is severe and should be taken very seriously.
This puts the US in a position where the Obama administration has to take aggressive steps on the cyber security issue. Recently there have been cyber-attacks on companies like Sony and Target. During her tenure as the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton was criticized by the media for using a personal email account. This is the same time when the cyber-attack on the State of Department took place and it went on for months without anyone noticing it.
The Congress was also not briefed on this cyber-attack; there is an increased concern on the Russian Cyber threats. Though this attack was on a federal agency, private companies have also raised their concern.