The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has confirmed that its internal systems were hacked, marking one of the most serious cyber incidents to hit a nonpartisan federal agency in recent years.
In a brief statement released Friday, the CBO acknowledged a “cybersecurity incident impacting its network infrastructure,” but declined to provide details on the source, motive, or scale of the breach.
“We are aware of unauthorized activity on our systems and are working with federal partners to investigate,” a CBO spokesperson said. “Our focus is on securing our networks and ensuring continued operations.”
What We Know So Far
The CBO, which provides economic and budgetary analysis to Congress, plays a crucial role in evaluating legislation and producing cost projections that influence U.S. fiscal policy.
While officials did not specify what data was compromised, cybersecurity experts warn that the office’s servers hold sensitive information — including draft budget reports, communications with lawmakers, and confidential economic forecasts.
According to early reports cited by TechCrunch, the breach was detected earlier this week after “unusual data access patterns” were flagged by an internal monitoring tool.
The agency has since taken portions of its internal network offline, and is coordinating with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI’s Cyber Division to trace the intrusion.
Federal Response and Possible Links
A CISA official, speaking on background, said the investigation is “active and sensitive,” noting that the agency has observed a recent uptick in targeted intrusions against U.S. legislative and research bodies.
While no specific group has claimed responsibility, early indicators suggest a state-linked espionage operation rather than a financially motivated attack.
“This is the kind of target foreign intelligence services value — insight into budget priorities, defense allocations, and long-term fiscal strategy,” said Theresa Payton, former White House CIO and CEO of Fortalice Solutions.
Payton added that even temporary access to budget projections could offer geopolitical adversaries leverage in trade or defense negotiations.
