Cyber Attacks Just Keep on Coming

In recent months there has been a significant surge in the number of reported cyber attacks.  This blog has already featured the infamous Sony PlayStation debacle, which has left the PlayStation Network out of action for many weeks.  Other recent high-profile hacking incidents include the Wikileaks ‘Hacktivist’ attack on internet payment sites.



  Even more disturbing and potentially damaging are hacks affecting international security, such as the recent attempted attack on the top secret data network of Lockheed Martin, a major US government defence contractor, and the phishing attack on Google gmail accounts belonging to several US Government officials, journalists and public opponents of the Chinese Government.       

In March Internet security experts RSA were themselves the target of a cyber attack, when data relating to their SecurID token system was stolen by hackers. SecurID tokens supplied by RSA are used by millions of people to gain remote access to sensitive information, such as company data networks and bank account details.  The tokens work in conjunction with the traditional password systems, providing an additional layer of security.  A SecurID token works by generating a new six-digit code which must be used each time a user wishes to remotely access their data.

In an open letter to their customers,  RSA Executive Chairman Arthur Coviello admitted that security information related to the SecurID devices had been stolen and used in connection with the Lockheed Martin attack. It is thought that the same hackers may also have been responsible for a similar attack on the IMF, the inter-governmental group that oversees the global financial system.

Mr. Coviello denies that RSA’s SecurID technology has been rendered vulnerable as a result of the breach. He describes the breach as ‘a very sophisticated cyber attack’, and ‘in the category of APT (Advanced Pesistent Threat)’,  but assures customers that they can remain confident of continued security for their systems as long as they implement the remedial measures recommended by RSA to counter the attack.

It is thought that the hackers managed to collect key data including ‘Seed Numbers’ which are used to generate the tokens, allowing them to create their own counterfeit versions, which were then used to hack into customer networks.  RSA is therefore expected to be replacing its customers’ old SecurID tokens.

Another recent cyber attack, targetting Citigroup, is thought to have been a much less high-tech operation. This was apparently a URL hack: in other words, hackers seem to have taken advantage of the fact that the Citi Card website failed to mask real customer account numbers contained in the URL string.