The risks are not fully known
The cyber attack on the US government and corporate America - presumably by Russia - is getting more play in the chatter today. The risks from the attack are still not fully known, but the news has the stock market a bit on edge. The major indices have turned negative.
A look at the market currently shows:
- S&P index -14.3 points or -0.39% at 3708.14
- NASDAQ index -11.97 points or 10.09 percent at 12753
- Dow -106 points or is -0.35% at 30196.
The breach has apparently gone back to at least March, and continued through the US election. The news, however, was not announced until the Sunday.
Microsoft has said that at least 40 companies, government agencies and think tanks have been attacked including the Department of Defense, state, homeland security, treasury, commerce and energy and its National nuclear security administration.
Microsoft says that 80% of the corporate breaches are in the US. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the attack "poses a grave risk to federal government and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments as well as critical infrastructure entities and other private sector organizations."
