The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), which offers a platform for inclusive development, knowledge sharing, and testing of ICT-enabled systems was found to have been breached.
The ETSI cyber attack notice attributed the cause of the breach to a vulnerability that was exploited to gain unauthorized access. The vulnerability in ETSI was later fixed.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute cyber attack impacted the IT systems of its members’ work, read the alert by the organization.
ETSI, which is located in France, is a third-party organization to over 900 member organizations from over 60 countries on five continents. ETSI offers the much-needed guidance for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related systems.
The incident throws light on the vulnerability and the impact of it not being patched in time, leading to the ETSI cyber attack. As ETSI remains the central point of contact for services offered to a multitude of organizations, its security exploitation could potentially expose all its customers.
While the ETSI cyber attack alert was initially posted by the organization in September, it has recently garnered attention. The ETSI security incident was taken up by the National Cybersecurity Agency of France (ANSSI) for investigation.
Details of the ETSI Cyber Attack
It is not clear if any ransomware group has left a payment threat or deadline to the organizations after the ETSI data breach. The Cyber Express emailed the organization for comments regarding the same. We will update this report after receiving the same.
“ETSI believes the database containing the list of their online users has been exfiltrated,” the European Standards Organization, ETSI which also offers regulations and legislation-related services noted in its alert.
They urged service users, and organizations to change their passwords due to the cyber attack on ETSI. “A notification has also been made to the French data protection authority (CNIL) as required by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).” The ETSI data breach alert further added.
Jorge Romero, ETSI Director-General addressed how the organization quickly adapted during the other challenging times caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jorge added, “The shutdown challenged our working procedures and IT systems and we managed to ensure business continuity for both our staff and our members whilst limiting the risks.”
Hacking third-party vendors has become a major cybersecurity concern of organizations and governments alike. Hackers pilfer the credentials of an employee of a third-party vendor posing a security risk to colossal amounts of data belonging to its clients.
When multinational organizations brace up for the challenges posed by the growing threat posed using evolved malware, hackers might find it difficult to breach their systems. This is likely why news of service providers and file transfer platforms are chosen by cybercriminals.
This was seen in the MOVEit vulnerability exploitation which has exposed the sensitive data of over 2000 organizations worldwide to the Clop ransomware group. The hackers remain stuck to ransomed firms including schools and colleges, and end up releasing personal information on the dark web.
Yet, it need not lead to monetary loss, or identity theft if users avoid trusting phishing emails, spam, and other online communications that may have data stealing malware. Such malware often needs to be clicked to be executed in the device or for them to exfiltrate user data.
Media Disclaimer: This report is based on internal and external research obtained through various means. The information provided is for reference purposes only, and users bear full responsibility for their reliance on it. The Cyber Express assumes no liability for the accuracy or consequences of using this information.