Citrix Vulnerability Exploitation Results in Comcast Xfinity Data Breach
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
In a recent disclosure, Comcast Cable’s Xfinity brand revealed that the October 2023 Citrix-related security incident compromised sensitive information of nearly 36 million customers.
The telecommunication company revealed that despite patching the security flaw announced by Citrix on October 10, hackers managed to exploit the Citirix vulnerability to access Xfnity’s network.
Comcast, in a notification to the Office of the Maine Attorney General, revealed that additional mitigation measures was issued by Citrix on October 23, which was promptly adopted by Xfinity.
‘’However, we subsequently discovered that prior to mitigation, between October 16 and October 19, 2023, there was unauthorized access to some of our internal systems that we concluded was a result of this vulnerability,’’ the notification stated.
In addition to launching an investigation, the company notified the concerned federal authorities about the nature and scope of the incident. Its investigation on November 16 revealed that information from its network had been compromised.
‘’On December 6, 2023, we concluded that the information included usernames and hashed passwords. For some customers, other information was also included such as names, contact information, last four digits of social security numbers, dates of birth and/or secret questions and answers. However, our data analysis is continuing, and we will provide additional notices as appropriate.’’
In order to protect its customers, the firm has advised them to reset their passwords, including enrolling for two-factor authentication (2FA). It further asked them ‘’not to re-use passwords across multiple accounts, if you do use the same information elsewhere, we recommend that you change the information on those other accounts, as well.’’
The critical-security vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-4966 and known as ‘’ CitrixBleed ,’’ had been exploited in the wild by hackers since late August 2023. Found in NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway devices, this flaw allows unauthorized actors to bypass security and hijack sessions.
Suspected Ransomware Attack Impacts Vans and North Face Owner VF Corp
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
VF Corporation, a company that owns popular apparel and footwear brands, suffered a security incident resulting in data theft and operational disruptions.
The incident came to light after VF revealed the incident in a Form 8-K report filed with the US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) on December 15, 2023.
According to the disclosure, the incident, which was first detected on December 13, saw hackers access VF’s network to disrupt ‘’business operations by encrypting some IT systems,’’ and steal personal and corporate data.
Although its retail stores around the world would remain open, its ability to fulfill online orders would be impacted. In addition, certain customers would also face issues in placing orders through its e-commerce sites globally.
Moreover, this incident is expected to adversely impact the company’s business operations. ‘’As of the date of this filing, the incident has had and is reasonably likely to continue to have a material impact on the Company’s business operations until recovery efforts are completed,’’ the SEC report revealed.
‘’The Company is working to bring the impacted portions of its IT systems back online and implement workarounds for certain offline operations with the aim of reducing disruption to its ability to serve its retail and brand e-commerce consumers and wholesale customers,’’ it continued.
In addition to mitigation efforts, VF is also investigating the incident with external cybersecurity experts and has notified the concerned federal law agencies. It is also trying to assess the material impact of the attack on its operations and finances.
The company did not reveal any details about the type of data stolen and individuals impacted, and, although no ransomware gang has claimed responsibility for the attack; the timing and modus operandi implies this to be a ransomware attack.
The Denver, Colorado-based VF Corp. is a leading apparel, footwear, and accessories retailer that owns 12 globally recognized brands. With an annual revenue of $11.6 billion, the company operates 1,265 retail stores and employs 35K people worldwide.
Some of its leading brands include Dickies, Supreme, Timberland, Kipling, SmartWool, Altra Running, Eastpak, Napapijri, JanSport, and Icebreaker.
