Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Sophos takes down partner portal after signs of hacking

Sophos believes that hackers might have stolen sensitive user information from its partner portal

Security firm Sophos has taken its partner portal offline and will reset every user's password after it found signs of a potential security breach on the server hosting it.

"Two unauthorized programs were found on the server, and our preliminary investigations indicate that these were designed to allow unauthorized remote access to information," Sophos said in a security alert posted on its website.

The company's staff found the unauthorized applications during a routine security check on April 3, and the potentially compromised server was immediately taken offline for further investigation, the company said.

Sophos could not establish if the data stored in the website's database, which includes partners' names and business addresses, email addresses, contact details, and hashed passwords, had been stolen. However, it decided to proceed under the assumption that it had.

The website will be restored after the security audit is completed and the problem is remediated. However, all user passwords will be forcibly reset as an additional precaution.

The company advised its partners to also change their passwords on other websites where they might have used them, and to be on alert for potential phishing emails that claim to originate from Sophos.

It's relatively common for attackers responsible for breaches that result in stolen email addresses to exploit the known business relationship between the affected users and the victim organization through phishing, in an attempt to extract more information.

In situations where the affected organizations are security firms like Sophos, such phishing attacks can have a high rate of success, because of the inherent trust that exists between users and their security vendors.

"We realize that the site's downtime and the forced password resets may be an overreaction and are sorry for the disruption this will cause, but we would rather cause some inconvenience at this stage than delay as we wait for further information," the company said.

Only the older partner portal, located at https://gpp.partners.sophos.com, has been affected by this security incident, Sophos said. Partners that have already moved to its new Salesforce.com-based portal don't have to worry about the password resets or downtime.

Related Articles

  1. CMO interview: Becoming a change agent

    CMO

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Salesforce.com, Sophos
References show all

Comments

visit them now

1

You made some really good points there. I
checked on the web for additional information about the issue and found most people will go
along with your views on this website.

Comments are now closed.
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • BYOD and Beyond - Implementing a Unified Access Solution
    The rise of BYOD programs is the single most radical shift in the economics of client computing for business since PCs invaded the workplace. Whether you are contemplating the creation of a BYOD program or currently trying to establish one, this fact cannot be overstated. Find out how to overcome these challenges.
    Learn more »
  • Russian Underground 101
    This research paper intends to provide a brief summary of the cybercriminal underground and shed light on the basic types of hacker activity in Russia. It discusses fundamental concepts that Russian hackers follow and the information they share with their peers. It also examines prices charged for various types of services, along with how prevalent the given services are in advertisements. The primary features of each type of activity and examples of associated service offerings are discussed as well. Read this paper.
    Learn more »
  • HP Helps NEC Reduce Network Management Costs and Gain Efficiencies
    NEC wanted to reduce network management costs, while increasing network visibility, decreasing mean-time-to-repair, improving stability and mitigating the risk of downtime. Download today to hear from Cameron Craig, Senior department manager of NEC on what approach they took and why.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments