Solar Winds Attack

Solar Winds Attack

The SolarWinds cybersecurity breach, one of the most extensive and sophisticated hacking campaigns to date, targeted both federal government agencies and private-sector entities. Beginning in September 2019, a group believed to be associated with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service infiltrated the computer networks of SolarWinds, a Texas-based network management software company. They conducted a "dry run" by inserting test code into SolarWinds' network management suite called Orion.

In February 2020, the threat actors introduced hidden, or "trojanized," code into a file included in SolarWinds' Orion software updates. These compromised updates were unknowingly distributed to SolarWinds' customers, providing the threat actors with a backdoor into affected systems. Once inside, the threat actors exploited the compromised networks and systems, using a highly sophisticated infrastructure.

Since SolarWinds' software is widely used in the federal government to monitor network activity, this breach allowed the threat actors to infiltrate agency information systems. Approximately 18,000 SolarWinds customers received the compromised software updates, with a smaller subset, including the federal government, being targeted for espionage purposes.

The breach was first detected by FireEye, a cybersecurity firm, in November 2020. FireEye informed SolarWinds of the compromise, and further investigations revealed that the threat actors had also compromised some of Microsoft's cloud platforms. Microsoft collaborated with federal agencies and industry partners to mitigate the breach's impact.

In response to the breach, the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an emergency directive in December 2020, outlining mandatory mitigations for federal agencies. The White House's National Security Council activated the Cyber Unified Coordination Group to coordinate the government-wide response.

Congress conducted hearings to gather information on the SolarWinds hack's timeline and broader issues such as IT supply chain security and future federal cybersecurity actions. While the investigation into SolarWinds continues, it underscores the urgent need for improved national cybersecurity in the face of evolving and serious threats. Ensuring the nation's cybersecurity remains a high-priority challenge for the federal government, as highlighted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on its High-Risk List since 1997. A comprehensive GAO report on the breach is expected later this year.

References:

• https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/cryptography-tutorial/all-about-solarwinds-attack

• https://www.businessinsider.com/solarwinds-hack-explained-government-agencies-cyber-security-2020-12

• https://www.gao.gov/blog/solarwinds-cyberattack-demands-significant-federal-and-private-sector-response-infographic