COMMENTARY. In December 2020, the SolarWinds attack sent shockwaves around the world.
Attackers gained unauthorized access to SolarWinds' software development environment, injected malicious code into Orion platform updates, and created a backdoor called Sunburst, potentially compromising national security.
The attack affected 18,000 organizations, including government agencies and major corporations, and the malicious actors responsible for the breach may have been preparing to carry out the attack since 2019.
Although three years have passed and governments and other organizations have reevaluated security best practices and legislation, new developments in this story continue to emerge.
Revealing New Insights into the SolarWinds Attack Recent developments about the attack underscore how vulnerable supply chain security is to highly skilled attackers.
In April 2023, it was disclosed that the US Department of Justice detected the SolarWinds breach in May 2020, six months before the official announcement, and informed SolarWinds of the anomaly.
In each case, SolarWinds was notified but found nothing suspicious.
Taken together, these revelations indicate that the SolarWinds incident had a more significant and long-lasting impact than initially understood.
They also underline the complexity of improving supply chain security.
Federal Responses and Regulatory Action In response to this breach, regulators began investigating SolarWinds' security practices while considering new regulations to improve supply chain security.
The Cyber Unified Coordination Group was formed, consisting of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, with support from the National Security Agency.
In June 2022, President Biden signed the State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act of 2021 into law, promoting collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments.
Future Preparedness and Collaborative Measures The SolarWinds attack prompted calls for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation worldwide.
In the wake of the attack, organizations around the world must place greater emphasis on information sharing and collaboration.
The SolarWinds incident highlights the importance of software security by design.
The attackers exploited weaknesses in the development process, emphasizing that secure coding practices should be an integral part of the software development lifecycle.
That's why many organizations need to improve security auditing, endpoint security, patch management, and privilege management processes.
One option for an enterprise is to build a red team - cybersecurity personnel who test network defenses and find potential flaws or holes that could be exploited by attackers - before the attackers find them.
Conclusion The SolarWinds attack serves as a constant reminder that organizations must remain vigilant against evolving cyber threats.
By staying informed, collaborating, and continuously improving cybersecurity practices, organizations can enhance their defenses against supply chain compromises like SolarWinds while safeguarding their digital ecosystems in 2023 and beyond.
This Cyber News was published on www.darkreading.com. Publication date: Mon, 18 Dec 2023 15:00:04 +0000