Hacks around 200 Organizations and Government agencies around the world
A cyberattack is defined as an illegal attempt to gain access to another computer with malicious intent. Its recent victim is an American firm, SolarWinds. It is an IT management company which offers a software named ‘Orion’ to more than 18000 companies, organisations, and government agencies. The hackers inserted a malware (malicious programme) named Sunburst in Orion’s system so that if SolarWinds’s client tried to update their Orion software, the malware would infect their system. This is known as ‘Supply Chain’ attack, which means instead of directly attacking a company, the hackers attacked a third party vendor, which supplied software to them. The update was sent to more than 18000 of the company’s clients, but only 200 of them ran the update on their systems. The malware remained undetected by the antivirus and blended in with the legitimate software of Orion. SolarWinds’s client list is impressive as it includes Fortune 500 companies, top telecom operators of US, Pentagon, Department of Homeland and Security, Justice Department, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, among others.