DOJ Knew of SolarWinds Breach Pre-Public Disclosure

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) discovered the SolarWinds breach six months earlier than previously reported, in May 2020, but was unaware of the significance of what they had found. Suspicions were triggered when the department detected unusual traffic emanating from one of its servers that was running a trial version of the Orion software suite made by SolarWinds. The DOJ asked the security firm Mandiant to help determine whether the server had been hacked. It also engaged Microsoft, though it’s not clear why the software maker was also brought onto the investigation. The incident underscores the importance of information-sharing among agencies and industry, something the Biden administration has emphasized.