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Justice Department emails targeted in SolarWinds hack, report says

The ongoing breaches reportedly affect 3% of email accounts at the DOJ, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Laura Hautala Former Senior Writer
Laura wrote about e-commerce and Amazon, and she occasionally covered cool science topics. Previously, she broke down cybersecurity and privacy issues for CNET readers. Laura is based in Tacoma, Washington, and was into sourdough before the pandemic.
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Laura Hautala
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Digital intruders reportedly accessed Justice Department emails as part of the sweeping SolarWinds hack.

Angela Lang/CNET

The SolarWinds hack has hit the US Department of Justice, according to a report Wednesday from The Wall Street Journal, making the agency the latest to suffer an intrusion in a far-reaching set of breaches. Hackers were reportedly able to access department emails, and about 3% of email accounts were affected, but classified systems were not accessed.

The hacking effort, which US intelligence agencies said Tuesday likely originated in Russia, has hit both federal agencies and private businesses, all of which were customers of IT software provider SolarWinds. Russia has denied involvement in the hack. The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: SolarWinds hack continues to spread: What you need to know

In a joint statement Tuesday, the FBI, NSA, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Office of the Director of National Security said the federal agencies affected numbered less than 10. The departments of Energy, Commerce, Treasury, Homeland Security, State, Energy and Defense have all been reportedly caught up in the breach as well, as has the National Institutes of Health.