House committee holds cybersecurity hearing
A federal official says a break-in targeting State Department computers last summer occurred after a department employee in Asia opened a mysterious e-mail that allowed hackers inside the agency's network.
In the fist public account of the intrusion, State Department official Donald Reid describes an elaborate ploy by sophisticated international hackers who exploited a design flaw in Microsoft software to gain entry to State Department computers.
Reid is scheduled to testify at a cybersecurity hearing for a House Homeland Security subcommittee later today. The hearing will also examine a breach involving the Commerce Department.