Bulletins

FireEye discloses breach, theft of cybersecurity tools by 'state-sponsored' actor

Following what it called a "state-sponsored attack" that it has referred to the FBI, security company FireEye disclosed Tuesday that some of its valuable tools for testing the defense of its customers have been stolen.

In a filing with the SEC, FireEye said "we have found that the attacker targeted and accessed certain Red Team assessment tools that we use to test our customers' security." "Red Teams" are security experts who target the defenses of their customers in hopes of finding problems with their security before criminals do.

Those tools, considered among the best in the security industry, are likely to wind up on the internet where they can be used against anyone. Stock in FireEye plunged 7% in after-hours trading.

Tom Krazit

Tom Krazit ( @tomkrazit) is Protocol's enterprise editor, covering cloud computing and enterprise technology out of the Pacific Northwest. He has written and edited stories about the technology industry for almost two decades for publications such as IDG, CNET, paidContent, and GeekWire, and served as executive editor of Gigaom and Structure.

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Bulletins