Missing laptops raise cyber risks from US Capitol mayhem

Workers cleaning an office at the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C., US, on Jan 7, 2021. That the rioters may have had access to logged in work stations – meaning their owners fled before logging out – means that congressional passwords, encryption standards and routing should be revised in the coming weeks. — Bloomberg

US federal authorities are assessing the cybersecurity risks created by rioters roaming freely through congressional offices during the Jan 6 rampage at the US Capitol, including missing laptops and computers that were left unsecured.

While there is no indication that hacking into computer networks was a goal of the rioters, at least three computers were reported missing and the potential exists that the intruders gained access to sensitive systems when members of Congress and their staff hastily took cover, according to cybersecurity experts. As a result, the House and the Senate should devote resources to mitigating any potential vulnerabilities, they said.