CybersecurityFBI leads Lockheed Martin cyberattack investigation
The FBI recently announced that it is leading a federal investigation into a cyberattack on defense giant Lockheed Martin’s networks; the investigation will be led by the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force and is aimed at determining if the attack was a result of “poor hygiene, if nothing was infiltrated and nothing taken or something more”; on 21 May, the company detected a “significant and tenacious” attack on its networks that was met with a swift response; the FBI declined to comment on what actions it would take if the investigation revealed that the attacks were perpetrated by state or non-state actors
Analysts contend some data may have been stolen // Source: techextant.com
The FBI recently announced that it is leading a federal investigation into a cyberattack on defense giant Lockheed Martin’s networks.
Robert Butler, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy, explained that, “The FBI has the lead because it’s a criminal activity.” The investigation will be led by the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force and is aimed at determining if the attack was a result of “poor hygiene, if nothing was infiltrated and nothing taken or something more.”
According to Lockheed Martin, on 21 May, the company detected a “significant and tenacious” attack on its networks that was met with a swift response.
The company says that hackers were not able to steal or corrupt any data and that their network remains secure.
Sondra Barbour, Lockheed’s chief information officer, said that the company reset all user passwords, upgraded its remote access SecurID tokens, and added an additional layer of security to prevent future attacks.
The defense contractor has worked closely with the Defense Department following the breach and the Pentagon has said that the impact of the attack was minimal.
Despite these assurances, some analysts believe that the hackers were successful in retrieving some data.
Vaughn Thurman, the president of Swift Systems, a technical consulting firm, said that it was a “statistical impossibility” that an organization with the technical skills and financing to lead an attack on Lockheed Martin would leave without any “pay dirt.”
Thurman explained that infiltrating Lockheed’s networks would require hackers to replicate the company’s advanced security technology.
But, Ajay Gupta, the president of cybersecurity consulting company Gsecurity, said that even if hackers were able to obtain data from Lockheed’s networks, the data was most likely encrypted, making it very difficult for hackers to access.
“While [some information] may have been compromised, the data is probably encrypted and it’s probably difficult to really get the sensitive information out, because of the level of encryption it probably has,” Gupta said.
In the meantime, Barbour said Lockheed Martin will continue to keep the government informed of any developments and that it will continue to work with federal agents as it investigates the matter.
The FBI declined to comment on what actions it would take if the investigation revealed that the attacks were perpetrated by state or non-state actors.
