U.S. government probes VPN hack within federal agencies, races to find clues

FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of the Codecov logo and cyber binary codes in this illustration taken April 20, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) - For at least the third time since the beginning of this year, the U.S. government is investigating a hack against federal agencies that began during the Trump administration but was only recently discovered, according to senior U.S. officials and private sector cyber defenders.

It is the latest so-called supply chain cyberattack, highlighting how sophisticated, often government-backed groups are targeting vulnerable software built by third parties as a stepping-stone to sensitive government and corporate computer networks.