White House cyber adviser says it will take months to investigate hack

The White House's top cybersecurity adviser said on Wednesday an investigation into a sprawling Russian hacking operation against the U.S., known as the SolarWinds hack, will take several more months to complete. White House Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger said that a total of nine federal agencies and 100 private sector companies had been impacted by the hack, which first came to light in December.

The White House's top cybersecurity adviser said on Wednesday an investigation into a sprawling Russian hacking operation against the U.S., known as the SolarWinds hack, will take several more months to complete.

White House Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger said that a total of nine federal agencies and 100 private sector companies had been impacted by the hack, which first came to light in December. She also said that a number of the affected private sector companies were technology firms, who were breached to facilitate access to other victims.

The FBI, Homeland Security Department and several other U.S. government agencies have been digging into affected computer networks ever since the hacks' discovery to find clues about the attackers. While multiple U.S. government officials have said the hackers came from Russia, they've offered little additional details. "We believe it took them months to plan and compromise," said Neuberger. "It will take us some time to uncover this layer by layer."