SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna revealed that the malware attack on the company last 2020 was a massive hack in the making, with threat actors having made an elaborate scheme dating back to 2019. It was recently denied by the Russian spy chief that his country is behind the attack, and the perpetrator remains at large for its extensive damage to the company.
The attack affected not only SolarWinds but also its clients and customers who have seemingly lost faith in the digital security of the company after the massive attack. Computer safety and security is something one expects to guard against external threats, but when they are the ones facing it, the entire illusion of safety crumbles.
There have been reports that experts and officials believe SolarWinds need more than 18 months to recover from the damages brought by the attack, despite the company saying they are operational. The extent of SolarWinds' malware attack has reached the United States agencies which use its services.
SolarWinds CEO Reveals Hackers Were There Since 2019
In the recent RSA Conference 2021 (via Dark Reading), Ramakrishna has taken a keynote speech opportunity to clarify and explain the recent hack which happened under his watch with SolarWinds. The company has been blindsided by the attack, and its extensive effects have brought the company to its knees, which is slowly reviving now.
The CEO explained that the hackers were looking into the company's systems since January 2019 and have been injecting its sleeper malware since October of the same year. It was more than eight months in the making before the threat actors enacted their plans and took over the security systems in place.
Moreover, it was the company's system that was at fault, and not through an "intern," which SolarWinds initially attributed to the attack. SolarWinds' Malware attack last 2020 was one of the worsts during the pandemic, especially as it holds distinct clients such as Nvidia, Intel, and more.
Why Were Hackers Not Detected by the System's Security?
Initial reports also suggested that the SolarWinds hack was through the Microsoft 365 systems of regular users of the Orion security software but was later denied by the Redmond giant as the source. With this, SolarWinds were left on their own to answer for their shortcomings and breach in their security that has transcended on massive US entities.
FireEye has been working with US authorities and SolarWinds to catch the malware or its threat actors, and so far, the company has only named the group UNC2452. The malware injected by the hackers was elusive and has stayed under the radar, hence not having detected the breach on its systems, until the elaborate attack last November to December.
Related Article: Russian Spy Chief is 'Flattered,' But Denies Being Behind SolarWinds Cyberattack
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Written by Isaiah Richard
