The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a crucial nonpartisan body providing economic analysis and cost estimates for lawmakers during the federal budget process, has confirmed it suffered a hacking incident. While the exact details remain under investigation, early reporting suggests sensitive data may have been compromised, highlighting vulnerabilities within government cybersecurity infrastructure.
Caitlin Emma, CBO spokesperson, stated that the agency is taking immediate steps to contain the breach and bolster its defenses with enhanced security controls. The Washington Post first revealed the breach, attributing it to unspecified foreign hackers who potentially accessed internal emails, chat logs, and communications between lawmakers’ offices and CBO researchers. This raises serious concerns as compromised information could be used for targeted phishing attacks or to glean insights into legislative strategies.
Adding urgency to the situation, the Senate Sergeant at Arms office alerted congressional offices that emails exchanged between their offices and the CBO might have been compromised. They urged extra vigilance against potential phishing attempts leveraging stolen data.
Though the method of intrusion remains unconfirmed, security researcher Kevin Beaumont suspects a possible exploit of outdated Cisco firewall technology within the CBO network. Beaumont had previously flagged this vulnerability on Bluesky last month, noting that the CBO’s Cisco ASA firewall hadn’t been updated since 2024 and was susceptible to newly discovered security flaws actively exploited by suspected Chinese government-backed hackers. Notably, Beaumont pointed out that these vulnerabilities persisted even after the federal government shutdown began on October 1st. He has since reported that the CBO’s firewall is now offline.
The CBO declined to comment on Beaumont’s findings while Cisco representatives haven’t yet responded to requests for comment. The incident underscores the persistent threat posed by cyberattacks against critical government institutions and highlights the importance of proactive cybersecurity measures, including timely software patching and robust network security protocols.
