Hackers can gain access to government servers and computers through a variety of methods, but the most common are through employees opening phishing emails, or by the hackers gaining access to machines through Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). RDP is typically used by IT workers, either in-house or outsourced, to gain access to computers for technical assistance.

Once the hackers gain access and carry out their hack, computers typically see a message like the one below with instructions on opening a file from the desktop with further instructions. No other access to the computer’s files will be possible.