Government shutdown puts US at significant hacking risk

Washington: The partial US government shutdown has put sensitive departments at a significant hacking risk, cyber security experts have warned. Accroding to a report in Fortune late Wednesday, the federal freeze has put the US at a significant risk for both short and long-term cyberattacks.

"We have laid out the welcome mat to any and all nefarious actors," Mike O`Malley, Vice President of strategy at cloud defence firm Radware, was quoted as saying on CBS News. According to the experts, hacking can have serious impact on the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and other intelligence agences that hold sensitive information.

Corporate data breaches impacted more than 1 billion Americans in 2018, said the report.