https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Complete 2023 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2023 MSP 501 50-1
    • 2023 MSP 501 100-51
    • 2023 MSP 501 150-101
    • 2023 MSP 501 200-151
    • 2023 MSP 501 250-201
    • 2023 MSP 501 300-251
    • 2023 MSP 501 350-301
    • 2023 MSP 501 400-351
    • 2023 MSP 501 450-401
    • 2023 MSP 501 501-451
    • NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Channel Futures 20: Top Tech Providers
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2023 MSP 501
    • 2023 NextGen 101
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
    • Channel Leaders Lists
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2024 CP Expo Call for Speakers
    • Channel Futures Leadership Summit
    • MSP Summit
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Complete 2023 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2023 MSP 501 50-1
    • 2023 MSP 501 100-51
    • 2023 MSP 501 150-101
    • 2023 MSP 501 200-151
    • 2023 MSP 501 250-201
    • 2023 MSP 501 300-251
    • 2023 MSP 501 350-301
    • 2023 MSP 501 400-351
    • 2023 MSP 501 450-401
    • 2023 MSP 501 501-451
    • NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Channel Futures 20: Top Tech Providers
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2023 MSP 501
    • 2023 NextGen 101
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Technology Advisor 101 (TA 101)
    • Channel Leaders Lists
  • Events
    • Back
    • 2024 CP Expo Call for Speakers
    • Channel Futures Leadership Summit
    • MSP Summit
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

MSSP Insider


Shutterstock

Start slideshow

Older Fortinet Vulnerabilities Lead to Attack on Local Government Office

  • Written by Edward Gately
  • May 28, 2021
The vulnerability exploitation comes as no surprise to one cybersecurity expert.

A new FBI warning on older Fortinet vulnerabilities shows cybercriminals continue to have an advantage when organizations delay installing patches.

An advanced persistent threat (APT) actor group recently breached a local government by exploiting older Fortinet vulnerabilities. The group “almost certainly” exploited a Fortigate appliance to access a web server hosting the local government’s domain. The FBI isn’t identifying the local government.

The APT actors likely created an account with the username “elie” to further enable malicious activity on the network. Last month, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned that APT actors had gained access to devices on ports 4443, 8443 and 10443 for Fortinet FortiOS CVE-2018-13379, and enumerated devices for FortiOS CVE-2020-12812 and FortiOS CVE-2019-5591.

What the Actors Can Do

The APT actors can do data exfiltration, data encryption or other malicious activity. They are actively targeting a broad range of victims across multiple sectors. That indicates the activity is focused on exploiting vulnerabilities rather than targeting specific sectors.

Moreover, they may have established new user accounts on domain controllers, servers, workstations and active directories, according to the FBI. Some of these accounts appear to mimic other existing accounts on the network, so specific account names may vary per organization.

In addition to unrecognized user accounts or accounts masquerading as existing accounts, the account usernames “elie” and “WADGUtilityAccount” may be associated with this activity.

Fortinet sent us the following statement:

“The security of our customers is our first priority. CVE-2018-13379 is an old vulnerability resolved in May 2019. Fortinet immediately issued a product security incident response team (PSIRT) advisory and communicated directly with customers and via corporate blog posts on multiple occasions in August 2019, July 2020, and again in April 2021 strongly recommending an upgrade. If customers have not done so, we urge them to immediately implement the upgrade and mitigations.”

More Targeted Infiltrations Likely

Tyler Shields, JupiterOne‘s CMO, said this is a “target of opportunity” style of attack exploiting Fortinet vulnerabilities, for now.

JuipiterOne's Tyler Shields

JuipiterOne’s Tyler Shields

“Issues in infrastructure-related technologies lend themselves to a long tail of exploitability due to the difficulties in finding and updating these types of systems,” he said. “This is the type of thing that will linger for quite some time. Now that the attack and exploit has been made public, there is a good chance you will begin to see more targeted infiltrations.”

Scroll through our gallery above for more on the FBI warning and more cybersecurity news.

Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Edward Gately or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Tags: MSPs VARs/SIs New/Changing Channel Programs Artificial Intelligence Best Practices Channel Chatter Channel Research Cloud Galleries Intelligence Mergers and Acquisitions MSSP Insider Regulation & Compliance Security Vertical Markets

Most Recent


  • Disrupt, channel disruptors
    2023 MSP 501 Channel Disruptors: These Companies Are Shaking Things Up
    We used key data points to determine those partner businesses that are true industry disruptors.
  • Channel leader Del Real at Clio legal software firm
    Legal Tech Firm Clio Lands Former 8x8 Channel Leader
    She has plans for global expansion of the legal tech firm’s channel partner program.
  • 21st century technology vision for Oracle Cloud
    The Gately Report: Cybersecurity Fundamental to Oracle's 21st Century Technology Vision
    Plus, Exabeam's CEO weighs in on Cisco's acquisition of Splunk.
  • Conversational AI
    Kore.ai Hires Nextiva, ThreatProtector Vet to Lead NA TSDs
    The new channel sales leader is building a new TSD partner program.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Threats
    Cybersecurity and Threat Protection: MSSPs, Get Your Advice Here
  • DevSecOps
    ServiceNow, Microsoft Set to Deliver Broad SecOps Integration
  • Dunce Cap Businessman
    Tired of MSSPs ‘Failing,’ Nuspire Debuts Platform to Combat Cyberattacks
  • Business Problem
    Intel Security Execs Outline Efforts to Address Top Cybersecurity Challenges

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Futures Leadership Summit

October 30, 2023 - November 2, 2023

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

March 11, 2024 - March 14, 2024

Channel Futures Leadership Summit 2024

September 17, 2024 - September 19, 2024

Galleries

View all

2023 MSP 501 Channel Disruptors: These Companies Are Shaking Things Up

September 25, 2023

The Gately Report: Cybersecurity Fundamental to Oracle’s 21st Century Technology Vision

September 25, 2023

Kore.ai Hires Nextiva, ThreatProtector Vet to Lead NA TSDs

September 25, 2023

Industry Perspectives

View all

Partners Balance Multicloud Opportunity, Complexity

September 25, 2023

Why Conversational AI Matters for Your Customers and How It Can Boost Your Revenue

September 15, 2023

The 5 Ds that Lead to Unplanned Business Sales

September 13, 2023

Webinars

View all

MSP 501: Leadership in Cybersecurity

October 19, 2023

DE&I: Find the Balance that Works for You

September 7, 2023

Above and Beyond with the NextGen 101ers

August 30, 2023

White Papers

View all

6 UCaaS Reseller Challenges and How Real World Businesses Solved Them

February 1, 2023

Frost Radar: North American UCaaS Market, 2022

February 1, 2023

The Complete Guide to White-Label UCaaS for Reseller Success

February 1, 2023

Channel Futures TV

View all

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 129: ZLH Enterprises

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 128: Channel Partner Strategies Intelligence Service

August 25, 2023

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 127: Expereo, Movie Night Returns

August 18, 2023

Coffee with Craig and James Episode 126: ARG

July 28, 2023

MSP 501

The industry's largest and most comprehensive partner awards program.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X