US cybersecurity firm victim of hacking ‘by national government’

US cybersecurity firm FireEye said it was hacked by what it believes was a national government (Ben Margot/AP)

US cybersecurity firm FireEye has said foreign hackers with “world-class capabilities” broke into its network and stole tools it uses to probe the defences of thousands of customers, who include federal, state and local governments and top global corporations.

The hackers “primarily sought information related to certain government customers”, FireEye chief executive Kevin Mandia said in a statement, without naming them.