Analysis Summary

After a threat actor allegedly stole 440GB of files from the company's Microsoft Sharepoint server, cybersecurity behemoth Fortinet acknowledged that it had experienced a data breach.

One of the biggest cybersecurity firms in the world, Fortinet provides SIEM, network management, EDR/XDR, and consultancy services in addition to providing secure networking hardware such as firewalls, routers, and VPN devices. A threat actor claimed to have stolen 440GB of data from Fortinet's Azure Sharepoint instance recently in a post on a dark web forum. After that, the threat actor gave other threat actors access credentials to a purported S3 bucket where the stolen information was kept so they could download it.

The threat actor alleges that he attempted to blackmail Fortinet into paying a ransom to probably stop data from being published, but the firm declined. Fortinet verified that a third-party cloud-based shared file drive included the stolen client data. A restricted quantity of files kept on Fortinet's instance of a third-party cloud-based shared file drive was accessed without authorization by a person. These files contained restricted information about a small number of Fortinet customers.

Fortinet stated that it had contacted customers directly where necessary, although it did not specify how many customers were affected or what kind of data was exposed. A later update posted on the Fortinet website states that no malicious activity has been directed toward users as a result of the security incident, which impacted less than 0.3% of the company's client base.

Additionally, the cybersecurity firm verified that ransomware, data encryption, or access to Fortinet's corporate network was not involved in the incident. A threat actor stated in May 2023 that they had gained access to Panopta's GitHub repositories, which Fortinet had purchased in 2020, and that they had then released stolen material on a Russian hacker forum.

Impact

• Information Theft
• Unauthorized Access

Remediation

• Regularly change passwords for all accounts and use strong, unique passwords for sensitive accounts.
• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts to add an extra layer of security to login processes.
• Consider the use of phishing-resistant authenticators to further enhance security. These types of authenticators are designed to resist phishing attempts and provide additional protection against social engineering attacks.
• Regularly monitor network activity for any unusual behavior, as this may indicate that a cyberattack is underway.
• Organizations need to stay vigilant and follow best practices for cybersecurity to protect their systems and data from potential threats. This includes regularly updating software and implementing strong access controls and monitoring tools.
• Develop a comprehensive incident response plan to respond effectively in case of a security breach or data leakage.
• Maintain regular backups of critical data and systems to ensure data recovery in case of a security incident.
• Adhere to security best practices, including the principle of least privilege, and ensure that users and applications have only the necessary permissions.
• Establish a robust patch management process to ensure that security patches are evaluated, tested, and applied promptly.
• Conduct security audits and assessments to evaluate the overall security posture of your systems and networks.
• Implement network segmentation to contain and isolate potential threats to limit their impact on critical systems.
• Never trust or open links and attachments received from unknown sources/senders.