How SolarWinds' Massive Hack Upended Cybersecurity

Now Chinese hackers are suspected of exploiting the SolarWinds flaw.

Edward Gately, Senior News Editor

February 9, 2021

8 Slides
Data Center Hacker, dark data

Already have an account?

Shutterstock

Last month, SolarWinds‘ entire world was rocked as news of a massive hack spread globally.

The espionage campaign has heavily impacted the federal government and cybersecurity industry. It reportedly was carried out by Russian hackers.

Most recently, Trustwave identified three new critical flaws in software products by SolarWinds. Trustwave said the flaws could have allowed an attacker to compromise SolarWinds customers’ networks.

SolarWinds released a patch to fix the flaws and there’s no evidence that hackers exploited them.

In addition, Reuters reported suspected Chinese hackers exploited a flaw in SolarWinds software to help break into U.S. government computers.

The massive hack was first reported in mid-December and the full impact still remains unknown.

Nozomi Networks said layered operational technology (OT) security provides the best defense from these breaches.

“When attackers hit a technological boundary, they need to adjust their tactics accordingly,” said Chris Grove, product evangelist at Nozomi. “In addition to serving as hurdles for attackers to overcome, boundaries provide for ‘choke-points’ where monitoring and signaling can occur. Each technology boundary put in front of the attacker serves as an opportunity to better defend your network.”

Scroll through our slideshow above for the latest and to see how the hack unfolded.

Read more about:

MSPs

About the Author

Edward Gately

Senior News Editor, Channel Futures

As senior news editor, Edward Gately covers cybersecurity, new channel programs and program changes, M&A and other IT channel trends. Prior to Informa, he spent 26 years as a newspaper journalist in Texas, Louisiana and Arizona.

Free Newsletters for the Channel
Register for Your Free Newsletter Now

You May Also Like