In February 2021, software giant Ivanti discovered that Chinese hackers had penetrated the network of Pulse Secure, one of its subsidiaries that provided VPN devices to dozens of companies and government agencies around the world, according to new reports from Bloomberg.
Hackers exploited a secret backdoor they placed in Pulse Secure’s VPN software, Bloomberg reported, citing then-security chief Ivanti and other sources. The backdoor allowed the hackers to gain access to 119 other unnamed organizations that used the same company’s VPN product.
Mandiant was also reportedly aware of the breach and alerted Ivanti that hackers had exploited the flaw to disrupt European and US military suppliers.
The previously unreported breach is the latest example of how acquisitions, layoffs and cost-cutting led by private equity firms have helped compromise the quality and security of Ivanti’s most critical technologies. After private equity giant Clearlake Capital Group acquired Ivanti in 2017, Bloomberg reported a series of layoffs — particularly in 2022 — affecting employees who had deep institutional knowledge of the company’s products and security.
Ivanti and Mandiant did not respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg’s findings echo earlier reports about rival remote access tools provider Citrix, which had widespread layoffs following a 2022 deal between Elliott Investment Management and Vista Equity Partners to buy the company. Like Ivanti, Citrix has been plagued by cybersecurity incidents and critical bugs in recent years.
Ivanti’s VPN products have since been the cause of at least two other major attacks.
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In early 2024, the US Cyber Security Agency CISA ordered all federal agencies to disconnect their Ivanti VPN devices within two days, as hackers were actively exploiting vulnerabilities unknown to Ivanti at the time. Ivanti also warned customers last year that hackers were using another critical flaw in its Connect Secure product to hack corporate customers.