A pro-Russia group claimed responsibility for hacking the official website for the U.S. Congress late Thursday, replacing the page with a photo of President Joe Biden looking “puzzled,” Fox News reported.
The group “Killnet” claimed it hacked the website, causing it to shut down for about 45 minutes Thursday evening, according to Fox News. Users who tried to access congress.gov were either given an ‘Error 522’ or ‘Connection timed out’ notice, and the page also showed a pop-up image of President Biden giving a puzzled facial expression, according to CNN.
“The Library of Congress used existing measures to address the attack quickly, resulting in minimal down time,” April Slayton, director of communications for the Library of Congress, told CNN. “The Library’s network was not compromised and no data was lost as a result of the attack.”
The U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has warned about similar groups as Killnet which are known for committing hacking attacks on government websites. (RELATED: These Are Russia’s Cyber-Warfare Units That Wreak Havoc)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 24: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks about Russia’s “unprovoked and unjustified” military invasion of neighboring Ukraine in the East Room of the White House on February 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden announced a new round of sanctions against Russia after President Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine from the land, sea and air on Thursday. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The agency released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) on their website in April, warning countries and organizations across the globe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine puts them at an increased risk of cyberattacks, especially if they are providing material support to Ukraine.
“These Russian-aligned cybercrime groups have threatened to conduct cyber operations in retaliation for perceived cyber offensives against the Russian government or the Russian people,” the advisory stated. “Other cybercrime groups have recently conducted disruptive attacks against Ukrainian websites, likely in support of the Russian military offensive.”
The advisory urged critical infrastructure network defenders to harden their cyber devices in order to prevent hackers from committing malicious activity.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.