The Congressional Budget Office identified a cyber “security incident,” a spokesperson for the office said Thursday, posing vulnerabilities for a key arm of Congress.
The CBO — a nonpartisan agency tasked with providing economic and budgetary information to Congress — said Thursday that officials had taken “immediate action to contain” the breach as officials investigate the incident.
“Like other government agencies and private sector entities, CBO occasionally faces threats to its network and continually monitors to address those threats,” CBO spokesperson Caitlin Emma said in a statement.
The Washington Post initially reported the breach may have been perpetrated by a suspected foreign actor. POLITICO has not independently confirmed the details of the breach.
The Senate Rules Committee, which has oversight responsibilities for CBO, was briefed on the intrusion, according to a person familiar with the hack who was granted anonymity to discuss the briefing.
Spokespersons for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the nation’s key federal cyber defense agency, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the hack. Spokespersons for the FBI also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on if the agency is investigating the incident.
Maggie Miller contributed to this report.
