Russian hackers may have exploited a tool developed by Czech-based JetBrains to gain access to United States federal government and private sector systems.
US intelligence agencies and private cybersecurity firms are examining the role of a widely used software company, JetBrains, in the widespread Russian hack of federal agencies, private companies and infrastructure in the United States.
Officials are investigating whether the company, founded by three Russian engineers in the Czech Republic with research labs in Russia, was compromised and used by hackers as a way to insert a backdoor into the software of a large number of technology companies. Security experts warn that the intrusion could be the largest breach ever to hit US networks.
JetBrains, whose customers include 79 of the Fortune 100, is used by developers at 300,000 businesses. One of them is SolarWinds, the Austin, Texas -based company whose network management software played a central role in allowing hackers to gain access to government and private networks.
JetBrains said Wednesday that it was not aware that it was under investigation or that it had been breached. The exact software the researchers are examining is a JetBrains product called TeamCity, which allows developers to test and share software code before it is released.
By breaching TeamCity, or exploiting loopholes in how customers use the tool, cybersecurity experts say Russian hackers could have installed backdoors in a large number of JetBrains customers. Because TeamCity has been widely used, it is imperative to determine whether its software contains a vulnerability or whether attackers exploited TeamCity customers through stolen passwords or loopholes in unpatched software.
Government officials aren't sure how the JetBrains software breach is related to the SolarWinds hack, but they are seeking to learn exactly what happened.
On Tuesday, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Security Agency issued a joint statement formally stating that Russia was likely responsible for the hack. However, the statement did not provide details and did not mention JetBrains software.
Source of information: nytimes.com
