Clorox Claims IT Help Desk ‘Handed Credentials’ to Hackers in $380M Cyber Attack

Staff
By Staff
3 Min Read

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In 2024, IBM identified the manufacturing

sector as the industry most attacked by

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cybercriminals for the third straight year,

which is why we see even the biggest brands

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being impacted by the work of hackers.

Bleach maker Clorox is coming clean about the

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details surrounding a recent ransomware attack,

but the finger pointing extends past the gang

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of perpetrators and all the way to the

company’s IT provider,

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and Clorox believes that the IT firm’s

faults in this situation were so egregious that

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it has filed a lawsuit.

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The suit points to a 2023 incident in which

hackers from the group Scattered Spider

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targeted several firms.

According to Reuters,

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Scattered Spider is particularly adept at

tricking IT help desks into handing over

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credentials and then using that access to lock

them up for ransom,

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which is exactly what Clorox says happened in

its case.

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In fact, Clorox’s lawsuit

claims suggest it was almost easy.

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The company alleges that one of the group’s

hackers was able to repeatedly steal employees’

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passwords simply by calling the IT desk with

its service provider,

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Cognizant, and simply asking for credentials.

And while the hackers were posing as Clorox

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employees, Clorox alleges the service desk

didn’t ask for verification details of any kind.

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Reuters reviewed the lawsuit documents, which

included transcripts and other details showing

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just how basic the scheme was.

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According to the suit, Cognizant was not duped

by any elaborate ploy or sophisticated hacking

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techniques.

Cognizant handed the credentials right over.

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Clorox said that the hack resulted in $380

million in damages,

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a large chunk of which came from the company’s

inability to ship its goods in the immediate

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aftermath of the attack.

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I’m Anna Wells.

This is Manufacturing Now.

 

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