Technology Tuesday! Insights on the SolarWinds Cyber Attack and One Important Resource for American Businesses Operating Abroad…
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Do you want to get the attention of a cybersecurity professional? Just mention the word “SolarWinds“. What happened? Basically, a group gained access to government and other systems through a compromised update to SolarWinds’ Orion software and caused havoc like the cybersecurity world has never seen before.
SolarWinds was NOT just another cyberattack…
The attack compromised the infrastructure of SolarWinds, and the incident has the potential to reshape the entire cybersecurity landscape. “OK so another hack…what’s the big deal?”… you may think.
Indeed cyberattacks have become more common than we think. In fact, since 2019 AT LEAST 16 billion records, including credit card numbers, home addresses, phone numbers and other highly sensitive information, have been exposed through data breaches. The first quarter of 2020 was one of the worst in data breach history, with over 8 billion records exposed.
After compromising the infrastructure of SolarWinds, the hackers gained access to their network and applications monitoring platform called Orion. Using that access they were able to produce and distribute trojanized updates to the software’s users.
This was a BIG deal because according to SolarWinds their customers included 425 of the US Fortune 500, the top ten US telecommunications companies, the top five US accounting firms, all branches of the US Military, the Pentagon, the State Department, as well as hundreds of universities and colleges worldwide.
This case is far from being closed. As of January 2021, the U.S. federal government and private sector are still investigating the incident. In the meantime businesses have to take proactive measures and ensure that their Cybersecurity Awareness Program remains strong.
Resource for American Businesses Operating Abroad
In response to this major cyber incident, the Overseas Security Advisory Council put together a Resource Guide to educate and assist American organizations operating abroad. The guide contains useful information including helpful articles, and can be viewed by any good standing OSAC member.
To learn more about the OSAC, how to become a member and access the Resource Guide feel free to visit their website.
This concludes this week’s Technology Tuesday UPATE. Let me know if you have any questions and stay safe!
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