The U.S. Treasury and Commerce  departments, alongside other government agencies have been targeted by hackers, several media reports indicated on Sunday.

National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot told dpa “the U.S. government is aware of these reports and we are taking all necessary steps to identify and address potential issues related to this situation.”

The Department of Commerce confirmed to CNN that hackers had overcome protective measures in one of its offices.

The Washington Post reported hackers with ties to Russian intelligence agency SVR were responsible for the attacks on the Treasury and Commerce departments as well as other U.S. agencies.

It was unclear what information had been captured, according to the report, which also said the FBI had been brought in to investigate.

The cyberattacks have reportedly been going on for months.

Cybersecurity firm FireEye, which U.S. authorities often work with in cyberattack cases, said the hackers were the same group who had attacked it.

FireEye said last Tuesday that a cyberattack had stolen attack software that the company usually uses to test its customers’ defence systems.

It was still unclear whether these tools would be used for hacking attacks, it said, adding that the attackers would have been particularly interested in information about the company’s government customers.

FireEye said its initial analysis pointed to a state-sponsored attack, due to the technical skills and discipline of the attackers. 

(dpa/NAN)