IT security company Fireeye attacked by hackers
The US cybersecurity specialists Fireeye have themselves fallen victim to a cyber attack. The attackers exploited a vulnerability in Solarwinds' Orion network monitoring product.
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U.S. cybersecurity company Fireeye admitted late Sunday to being the victim of a cyber attack. The company, which is usually contacted by US authorities, has itself become the target of hackers. The attack involved a vulnerability in its Solarwinds networking software. According to the cybersecurity firm, the attack on Orion IT management software may have begun as early as spring. The software nests in the target's system for up to two weeks and is capable of transferring a system's files and booting up or shutting down systems, among other things. Government, consulting, technology, telecommunications and global commodities companies have been targeted since then, he said. According to a report from Solarwinds, 18,000 customers have already downloaded the updates containing the backdoors. It is not yet known whether only email traffic was spied on.
Fireye has notified all companies that may have been affected, he said. Last week, Fireye already stated that its own systems were attacked by allegedly sophisticated, state-sponsored hackers.
