DailyPost 2895
AMD HACKED AGAIN – CHIPMAKER IN THE DOCK?
Getting hacked twice in a span of three months cannot bring glory to any organization, more so if it happens to be a leading global chipmaker. The hackers have offered to sell data online. This is close on the heels of a similar breach in June this year. This alarming regularity has for sure raised concerns about the threats posed by hackers targeting AI chipmakers. If the AI revolution is in the backdrop, only an investigation would be able to prove or deny. The nature of investigation in these technically complex cases can turn out to be very challenging and most of the time, subtle nuances get glossed over.
These subtle nuances can be the beginning of a much more comprehensive investigation which could help us in moving confidently into the future. By all standards we are certainly not moving in the direction of a cyber safe world. In the June attack on AMD, employees’ data like phone numbers, email addresses, and financial documents were compromised. Now it has fallen victim to yet another cyber-attack which compromised internal communications besides sensitive employee information. It has led to the theft of various types of data, including user credentials, internal resolutions, and detailed case descriptions.
Based on the current information available, based on the progress of the investigation in this case, it can be attributed to criminal groups IntelBroker and EnergyWeaponUser. The collated stolen information has been put on sale on BreachForums, which is a notorious dark web marketplace. It has been claimed to have been originating from a variety of sources. IntelBroker from its own side too, has claimed responsibility for this attack. This group is claimed to be behind several alleged attacks in recent months, namely Europol and T-Mobile.
We also have confirmed attacks earlier this year by IntelBroker which targeted the Pentagon, FBI, and Facebook Marketplace. By hacking very high value targets this group has gained a serious reputation as a malicious and powerful cybercriminal gang. AMD in a statement said, “we are aware of a cybercriminal organization claiming to be in possession of stolen AMD data.” As is generally post a hacking incident, AMD too has communicated to the world that they are closely working with the law enforcement officials. Besides the law enforcement, as expected they also have “a third-party hosting partner to the investigate the claim and the significance of the data”. The right way to go, hope AMD succeeds.
CHIPMAKERS ARE TURNING OUT TO BE THE NEW HUNTING GROUND FOR THE HACKERS.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.