The Story Behind from the SolarWinds Cybersecurity Attack
SolarWinds is a name that rings familiar to anyone in the IT space. For those who may be unfamiliar, it was a company that commanded great respect and trust within the IT sector, having established itself as a market leader, specializing in providing top-tier software solutions for the management of IT infrastructure and network administration.
Among their flagship offerings, SolarWinds Orion was considered a dependable and powerful monitoring tool, so much so that it very quickly became the go-to choice for organizations and governments across the globe. Then, in 2019, it all went wrong.
In many ways, SolarWinds became a victim of its own success, finding itself in the crosshairs of cybercriminals and other nefarious actors. The SolarWinds incident in 2019 was a significant event that sent shockwaves through the IT industry. If we are to fully understand its consequences, we will need to take a closer look at what exactly happened and how it affected the company, its customers, and the broader cybersecurity landscape.
A Bit of Background on SolarWinds
Here’s a full rundown: In 2019, a group of hackers, believed to be nation-state actors, managed to worm their way into the networks, systems, and data of a ton of SolarWinds customers. The breadth of the hack is unprecedented and one of the largest, if not the largest, of its kind ever recorded.
The update containing the backdoor was a remote access trojan (RAT). This particular malicious update was named the Sunburst update. Fast forward to spring 2020, and this harmful update was already making its way to users. Customers did not bat an eyelid, as it came directly from the SolarWinds servers.
More than 30,000 public and private organizations, from local agencies to larger federal agencies, relied on SolarWinds’ Orion network management system for their IT needs. So, when SolarWinds unintentionally delivered that backdoor malware as an update to the Orion software, it was a disaster. Data, networks, and systems – all compromised.
But the story doesn’t end there because the hack also laid bare the inner workings of Orion users. This meant hackers could get into their customers’ and partners’ data and networks, too.
The fallout for SolarWinds was huge. According to their October quarterly report, the Orion breach in the first nine months of 2021 set SolarWinds back $40 million. Though partially offset by insurance, the financial and reputation hit from this unprecedented cyberattack is still haunting them, even four years later.
Why was the SolarWinds Attack so Significant?
This cyberattack stands out not only for its remarkable scale, affecting more than 18,000 systems worldwide, but also for its profound and lasting impact, which can be attributed to two critical factors:
- The attackers executed a remarkably stealthy infiltration, allowing them to maintain covert access for an extended duration without detection. In fact, they operated with near impunity for almost 14 months.
- The full extent of the information compromised remains uncertain. It will be a long time before security experts are able to determine the full extent of the information that has been compromised. So, even though the attack may have been stopped, the damage could continue for the foreseeable future.
The financial hit of cleaning up the mess from this incident is monumental. American businesses and government agencies are confronted with the daunting task of allocating substantial resources, potentially exceeding $100 billion, over an extended period to contain, mitigate, and rectify the damage inflicted by this breach.
There are also significant geopolitical implications at play. In 2021, the Biden administration officially blamed and sanctioned Russia for its role in the SolarWinds hack. This adds a layer of international tension and complexity to the aftermath of the attack, highlighting the interplay between cybersecurity and global politics.
So, what can we take away from all of this? Well, there are many lessons to be learned from the SolarWinds cyberattack – the most important being having dependable, reliable cybersecurity solutions in place. These safeguards are crucial not only for safeguarding your business but also for the security of your customers, clients, and your overall reputation.
Secureside was founded to achieve one primary objective: make organizations cyber secure. We offer top-tier security services to small and medium businesses at honest pricing. Our Virtual CISO (vCISO) and Security Team as a Service (STaaS) deliver complete security programs so that organizations can focus on what they do best.
Why choose us over others in the industry? We’re not just self-proclaimed experts but hands-on practitioners with a proven track record. Our approach is grounded in executive leadership and practical field experience, which has gained us the trust and respect of our peers and clients.
If you want to learn more, visit our website or contact us today.
