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What happened
Shares of several network security companies soared on Friday, following the hack making headlines by network infrastructure expert SolarWinds (NYSE: SWI). Here are some of the most notable moves today that were sparked by the SolarWinds attack:
|
Company |
Specialty |
The biggest jump in the share price on 12/18/2020 |
CAPS score (out of 5) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
FireEye (NASDAQ: FEYE) |
Security generalist |
32.8% |
3 |
|
Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS) |
Cloud compliance and security |
17.4% |
3 |
|
CyberArk Software (NASDAQ: CYBR) |
Security and account management |
16.2% |
4 |
|
Proofpoint (NASDAQ: PFPT) |
Corporate security |
11.5% |
4 |
Data Source: Yahoo! Finance and Motley Fool CAPS.
So what
SolarWinds creates a popular network management tool called Orion, which is used by a large percentage of corporate networks around the world. Earlier this week, FireEye said the company itself was the victim of a successful network attack using methods never seen before. The attackers walked away with access to some of FireEye’s security assessment tools, which could also be of use to bad actors in the form of aggressive weapons.
Hackers then used FireEye’s tools in conjunction with Orion to steal sensitive data from businesses and governments around the world. Many security experts agree that the attacks are carried out by a group called Cozy Bear, which has the support of the Russian government. Approximately 18,000 organizations downloaded an infected version of SolarWinds Orion, although only 40 of these accounts appear to have suffered further attacks.
I will take this account information, thank you very much! Image source: Getty Images.
The highly targeted nature of this attack prevents data security researchers from sleeping at night.
“I woke up in the middle of the night last night, just sick to my stomach,” Theresa Payton, former White House chief information officer, told CNN Business. “On a scale of 1 to 10, I’m at 9 – and it’s not because of what I know; it’s because of what we still don’t know.”
The attack on Cozy Bear naturally pushed FireEye’s stock price down last week, followed by brutal cuts to SolarWinds when the Orion nature of this threat emerged. Further details were released Friday, which is why investors expect a mad race for high-quality security tools for corporate and government networks.
SolarWinds fell 18.2% on Friday.
SWI data by YCharts
Now what
All of the great moves listed above make perfect sense today. The Orion attack made it clear that large organizations needed a variety of specialized security tools to combat an increasingly sophisticated range of cyber attacks.
It may seem strange that FireEye was forgiven so quickly, after admitting that the early stages of this attack were based on the company’s security tools. FireEye was also quick to spill the beans, dig into in-depth research into the entire episode, and keep audiences updated on its progress. Admitting your mistakes and then taking action to correct them is a great way to build trust, and it’s a crucial part of doing business in the cybersecurity industry.
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