Exclusive Networks struck by cyber breach

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Exclusive Networks has revealed it has been hit by a cyber breach, affecting the cyber security distributor's systems across five countries.

The Paris-based firm said it had been affected in the UK, US, France, Singapore, and the UAE, with the breach resulting in unauthorised access to data. There has, however, been no impact on the distributor’s day-to-day commercial operations.

Exclusive says that experts and its incident response team took immediate action to mitigate the breach and reinforce its security position, but added that its efforts to resolve the incident continue.

Investigations and forensic analysis are "ongoing" to understand the extent of the breach, however Exclusive says that no customer or partner data is known to have been affected by the unauthorised access.

"All necessary steps have been taken to stop the vulnerability and all systems globally have been checked to ensure their integrity and efficacy," Exclusive Networks said in a statement. "The Company is in contact with all relevant regulatory and data protection authorities pursuant to GDPR. Exclusive employees have been advised to take all necessary steps and precautions."

"More information will be provided as soon as it becomes known. The Company reiterates no commercial activities are affected by the incident and business continues as usual.”

The incident means Exclusive Networks becomes the latest in a line of cyber attacks on security firms.

At the backend of 2020, IT software provider SolarWinds was hit by attackers that deployed malware in updates for the firm's Orion software for IT inventory management. The attackers then used the malware to spread additional malicious software onto the networks of SolarWinds customers.

SolarWinds said in SEC filings that 33,000 customers were using Orion at the time, with around 18,000 believed to have installed the infected update.

Elsewhere, US cybersecurity firm FireEye was also hit by sophisticated attackers, who stole tools the company uses to simulate real hackers and test security of its customers.

Daniel Todd

Dan is a freelance writer and regular contributor to ChannelPro, covering the latest news stories across the IT, technology, and channel landscapes. Topics regularly cover cloud technologies, cyber security, software and operating system guides, and the latest mergers and acquisitions.

A journalism graduate from Leeds Beckett University, he combines a passion for the written word with a keen interest in the latest technology and its influence in an increasingly connected world.

He started writing for ChannelPro back in 2016, focusing on a mixture of news and technology guides, before becoming a regular contributor to ITPro. Elsewhere, he has previously written news and features across a range of other topics, including sport, music, and general news.