US cybersecurity firm FireEye hit by ‘state-sponsored’ attack
US cybersecurity firm FireEye says it has recently been attacked by a “highly sophisticated threat actor”, believing the hacking was state-sponsored.
“The attacker primarily sought information related to certain government customers,” he wrote.
The blog did not say who might have carried out the attack. The firm and the FBI are investigating the hack.
FireEye share price plunged following the company’s acknowledgement of the hack.
What did FireEye say?
“Based on my 25 years in cyber security and responding to incidents, I’ve concluded we are witnessing an attack by a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities,” Mr Mandia said in Tuesday’s blog, adding that the hack was “different from the tens of thousands of incidents we have responded to throughout the years”.
“The attackers tailored their world-class capabilities specifically to target and attack FireEye.
“They used a novel combination of techniques not witnessed by us or our partners in the past,” the blog said.
California-based FireEye was set up in 2004. It specialises in investigating attacks in cyberspace against companies throughout the world.
It is being described as one of the fastest-growing firms in the industry.
Mr Mandia began his career in the US Air Force investigating the first major cyber attack on America’s defence secrets by another state, the BBC’s security correspondent Gordon Corera reports.
In that case, our correspondent says, the Russians were responsible and, even though Mr Mandia does not name names, Russia may well be the prime suspect this time.
Source: BBC News