Tag: Energy Department

U.S. Agencies Breached in Cyberattack by Russian Ransomware Group

Media Library

A Russian ransomware group gained access to data from federal agencies, including the Energy Department, in an attack that exploited file transfer software to steal and sell back users’ data, U.S. officials said on Thursday. Jen Easterly, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, described the breach as largely “opportunistic” and neither focused on “specific high-valuable information” nor as damaging as previous cyberattacks on U.S. government agencies. “Although we are very concerned about this campaign, this is not a campaign like SolarWinds that poses a systemic risk,” Ms.…

What to Know About the Covid Lab Leak Theory

Chin@Strategy

Benjamin Mueller contributed reporting. The Daily is made by Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Robert Jimison, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Anita Badejo, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Chelsea Daniel, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman,…

Biden to Announce Nuclear-Powered Submarine Deal with Australia and Britain

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — President Biden plans to announce on Monday a landmark agreement with the leaders of Britain and Australia to develop fleets of nuclear-powered attack submarines that the three nations would use to strengthen their naval forces across the Asia-Pacific region as China bolsters its own navy. The purchase and training agreements on submarines amount to the first concrete steps taken by the three English-speaking nations to deepen the ambitious strategic partnership called AUKUS that they announced 18 months ago. The military deal, centered on Australia first buying the attack…

Where Did Covid Originate? Here’s What We Know and Don’t Know

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — The Energy Department’s conclusion, with “low confidence,” that an accidental laboratory leak in China most likely caused the coronavirus pandemic has renewed questions about what sparked the worst public health crisis in a century — and whether the virus at the heart of it was somehow connected to scientific research. Scientists and spy agencies have tried assiduously to answer that question, but conclusive evidence is hard to come by. The nation’s intelligence agencies are split, and none of them changed their conclusions after seeing the Energy Department’s findings, officials…

China Dismisses Latest Claim That Lab Leak Likely Caused Covid

Chin@Strategy

China accused the United States of politicizing the coronavirus pandemic again on Monday, in response to reports that the Energy Department had concluded that an accidental laboratory leak had likely triggered the spread of Covid worldwide. The rebuke marks the latest salvo in a running war of words between the two countries over the origins of the virus, an issue that has taken on as much of a political dimension as a scientific one as the rivalry between the two superpowers deepens. “Covid tracing is a scientific issue that should…

Lab Leak Most Likely Caused Pandemic, Energy Dept. Says, as Spy Agencies Remain Split

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — New intelligence has prompted the Energy Department to conclude that an accidental laboratory leak in China most likely caused the coronavirus pandemic, though American spy agencies remain divided over the origins of the virus, American officials said on Sunday. The conclusion was a change from the department’s earlier position that it was undecided on how the virus emerged. Some officials briefed on the intelligence said that it was relatively weak and that the Energy Department’s conclusion was made with “low confidence,” suggesting its level of certainty was not…

Biden Administration Begins $3 Billion Plan for Electric Car Batteries

Chin@Strategy

The Biden administration plans to begin a $3.1 billion effort on Monday to spur the domestic production of advanced batteries, which are essential to its plan to speed the adoption of electric vehicles and renewable energy. President Biden has prodded automakers to churn out electric vehicles and utilities to switch to solar, wind and other clean energy, saying the transitions are critical to eliminating the pollution that is dangerously heating the planet. In the wake of surging energy prices caused largely by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, administration officials also have…