Computer networks after combination of techniques

 The attackers planted malware in computer networks after using what FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia called “a novel combination of techniques not witnessed by us or our partners in the past.”

The sophisticated attack breached the Treasury and Commerce departments and potentially other agencies. The Commerce Department said in a statement that it asked the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI to investigate.

The Department of Homeland Security is also reviewing a possible breach at the agency, spokesman Alexei Woltornist said Monday.

“Think of it like a health virus that manages to get into your body,” said Mathieu Gorge, a software engineering vs computer science expert and author of the forthcoming book “The Cyber Elephant in the Boardroom.” “Once it’s in your body, it multiplies, using all of the organs and all of the arteries and all the liquids in your body. Everything is interconnected.”