Did you hear about the hacks on Microsoft Exchange and SolarWinds?Cyber attacks are rising by the day and there seems to be no stop to the malicious activity of cybercriminals and hackers. These attacks come from around the world and there is very little that can be done in terms of justice.However, ramping up cyber security and addressing threats proactively is one solution that has proven to be successful in the past. Unfortunately, sometimes even the best cyber security can be compromised and such has been the case with industry giants like Microsoft Exchange and SolarWinds.Let's discuss the recent hacks on these companies and how such cyber attacks affect everyone.
SolarWinds is a Texas-based software company that helps manage systems, networks and IT infrastructures for businesses. As early as March of last year, SolarWinds' Orion, a network monitoring tool, was breached by what many credible sources consider state-backed Russian hackers.When SolarWinds sent out Orion updates to around 33,000 clients, the hacker's code was sent out with it. This created a backdoor in client's systems and gave the hackers access to the IT systems of many organizations, including government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.SolarWinds mentioned in an SEC filing that an estimated 18,000 organizations worldwide have been affected, including top 10 US telecom companies, all branches of the US military, the Pentagon, State Department, NSA, DOJ and the White House.Moreover, big companies like MasterCard, Ford and Microsoft were also affected.
Microsoft Exchange is a professional email solution that manages and backs up emails on their servers for clients. In early January, DEVCORE, a security testing firm, notified Microsoft on 2 Exchange flaws and by the end of the month, cyber attacks had begun on these Exchange flaws.By March, hackers started actively backdooring tens of thousands of vulnerable Exchange servers, which were being compromised worldwide. Victims were notified but any rescue efforts were hindered by the sheer volume of the attacks and attackers.Microsoft's continued efforts to patch Exchange servers did not keep up with the frequency of the attacks and many servers still remain unpatched.
The SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange cyber attacks affect everyone and in ways that are highly problematic. The SolarWinds attack compromises datacenters of government agencies, which is a huge threat to national security.While the Microsoft Exchange hack give hackers full access to all the countless emails backed up on their servers. If you work for any of the almost 90,000 small or large businesses that use Exchange servers, your emails and company are under threat of exposure or exploitation.
Cyber Security is not to be taken lightly by anyone, be it industry giants or individual persons. The growing threat of cyber attacks are creating immense problems in our modern tech-dependant world. Security breaches and cyber attacks of any kind affect everyone, especially when it comes to tech giants and government agencies.If you want to learn more about cyber security, its best practices to protect yourself and your business, please visit our website today.
