U.S-based FireEye announces breach and hacking tools theft
Category: #headline  By Mateen Dalal  Date: 2020-12-10
  • share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

U.S-based FireEye announces breach and hacking tools theft

FireEye, one of the leading cybersecurity companies in the U.S, has reportedly announced that its system has been compromised and its proprietary hacking tools used to test its clients’ cyber defenses have been stolen. The company also hinted that the attacker could be a government.

The hack is among the most noteworthy breaches in recent times. While disclosing the breach in a public filing, CEO Kevin Mandia said that ‘red team tools’ were stolen as part of an extremely sophisticated and likely government-baked operation.

It is still not clear when the hack primarily took place, but a source familiar with the matter said the firm has been resetting the passwords of users over the last two weeks. Apart from tool theft, the hackers also seemed to be interested in the company’s clients, including government agencies.

FireEye’s decision to disclose the attack is in line with its intention to reduce the likelihood of other firms getting compromised as an outcome of this attack. The company said it has been working to strengthen defenses against its tools with numerous software makers, and it revealed countermeasures publicly.

Presently, there is no evidence indicating that the company’s hacking tools were used, or client data have been stolen. However, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and Microsoft Corporation are helping the company to look into this matter.

In recent years, numerous security firms have been hacked including Bit9, Kaspersky Lab and RSA, highlighting the challenges in securely keeping anything digital away from hackers. Several similar companies have also been attacked like this, said a Western security official who did not wish to disclose his identity to the public. Experts often say that it can be challenging to measure the impact of a hacking tool breach that focuses on known software vulnerabilities.

Source credit – https://in.reuters.com/article/fireeye-cyber/u-s-cybersecurity-firm-fireeye-discloses-breach-theft-of-hacking-tools-idINKBN28J09B

 

 

About Author

Mateen Dalal    

Mateen Dalal

Despite working as a professional testing engineer, Mateen Dalal always held a liking for content creation. Following his passion, he now pens down articles for itresearchbrief.com and a couple of similar portals. Mateen is a qualified electronics and telecommunicat...

Read More>>

More News By Mateen Dalal

Ellipsis Health, Augmedix to offer automated mental health patient screenings
Ellipsis Health, Augmedix to offer automated mental health patient screenings
By Mateen Dalal

AI vocal biomarker technology provider Ellipsis Health has reportedly disclosed a strategic partners...

Enevate, NantG Power partner to develop next-gen ultra-high-performance battery
Enevate, NantG Power partner to develop next-gen ultra-high-performance battery
By Mateen Dalal

A strategic agreement to produce next-generation battery was announced by Enevate and NantG Power, t...

TPG in plans to invest $336M in Denodo for accelerating growth
TPG in plans to invest $336M in Denodo for accelerating growth
By Mateen Dalal

Denodo, a leading data management company, and TPG, a global alternative asset management ...