See, that's a long article I would have just skipped a year ago. Now, we get to play with its content and it's fun :
Joe: So, it was late 2019 when we stumbled upon the breach at the think tank.
Donald: And what did you find, Joe?
Joe: Another digital security breach, nothing special. But then we found a second group of hackers, more skilled, going after specific executives, policy wonks, and IT staff.
Donald: Damn, that's some precision targeting right there.
Joe: Yeah, we kicked them out, but they kept coming back. We found out they had planted a backdoor three years earlier, and we never even knew.
Donald: Three years?! They were playing the long game, huh?
Joe: You could say that. And in June 2020, they came back. We spent days trying to figure out how they slipped in.
Donald: And how did they do it?
Joe: They zeroed in on a server running SolarWinds software. And that's when the Department of Justice called us.
Donald: Those hackers were clever.
Joe: You're damn right they were. They had gained access to the firm’s multifactor authentication system and were conducting counterintelligence against one of their biggest foes.
Donald: Who was that?
Joe: Mandiant.
Donald: And did Mandiant catch them?
Joe: Yeah, they did. But here's the thing, Don. Mandiant had investigated an intrusion on a server running the same SolarWinds software months earlier.
Donald: No way.
Joe: Yeah, way. And they didn't recognize the similarity between the two cases.
Donald: Why not?
Joe: Internal secrecy, man. And SolarWinds was the source of the hack.
Donald: That's what caused all the anger, huh?
Joe: You got it. And the US government won't say what the hackers did inside its networks. People are saying they don't want to admit their failures.
Joe: So, it was late 2019 when we stumbled upon the breach at the think tank.
Donald: And what did you find, Joe?
Joe: Another digital security breach, nothing special. But then we found a second group of hackers, more skilled, going after specific executives, policy wonks, and IT staff.
Donald: Damn, that's some precision targeting right there.
Joe: Yeah, we kicked them out, but they kept coming back. We found out they had planted a backdoor three years earlier, and we never even knew.
Donald: Three years?! They were playing the long game, huh?
Joe: You could say that. And in June 2020, they came back. We spent days trying to figure out how they slipped in.
Donald: And how did they do it?
Joe: They zeroed in on a server running SolarWinds software. And that's when the Department of Justice called us.
Donald: Those hackers were clever.
Joe: You're damn right they were. They had gained access to the firm’s multifactor authentication system and were conducting counterintelligence against one of their biggest foes.
Donald: Who was that?
Joe: Mandiant.
Donald: And did Mandiant catch them?
Joe: Yeah, they did. But here's the thing, Don. Mandiant had investigated an intrusion on a server running the same SolarWinds software months earlier.
Donald: No way.
Joe: Yeah, way. And they didn't recognize the similarity between the two cases.
Donald: Why not?
Joe: Internal secrecy, man. And SolarWinds was the source of the hack.
Donald: That's what caused all the anger, huh?
Joe: You got it. And the US government won't say what the hackers did inside its networks. People are saying they don't want to admit their failures.