major security breach resulting from cyberattacks which exploited vulnerabilities in software from SolarWinds and other vendors

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In 2020, a major cyberattack suspected to have been committed by a group backed by the Russian government penetrated thousands of organizations globally including multiple parts of the United States federal government, … Wikipedia
Factsheet
Date Before October 2019 (start of supply chain compromise)
March 2020 (possible federal breach start date)
December 13, 2020 (breach acknowledged)
Duration At least 8 or 9 months
Location United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Mexico, others
Factsheet
Date Before October 2019 (start of supply chain compromise)
March 2020 (possible federal breach start date)
December 13, 2020 (breach acknowledged)
Duration At least 8 or 9 months
Location United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Mexico, others
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › 2020_United_States_federal_government_data_breach
2020 United States federal government data breach - Wikipedia
3 days ago - On December 23, 2020, the CEO of FireEye said Russia was the most likely culprit and the attacks were "very consistent" with the SVR. One security researcher offers the likely operational date, February 27, 2020, with a significant change of aspect on October 30, 2020. In January 2021, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky said SUNBURST resembles the malware Kazuar, which is believed to have been created by Turla, a group known from 2008 that Estonian intelligence previously linked it to the Russian federal security service, FSB.
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TechTarget
techtarget.com › searchsecurity › news › 252494362 › 10-of-the-biggest-cyber-attacks
10 of the biggest cyber attacks of 2020 | TechTarget
For example, K-12 schools took a brunt of the hit, and new lows were reached like the exfiltration of student data. The list of top cyber attacks from 2020 include ransomware, phishing, data leaks, breaches and a devastating supply chain attack with ...
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ISACA
isaca.org › resources › news-and-trends › industry-news › 2020 › top-cyberattacks-of-2020-and-how-to-build-cyberresiliency
Industry News 2020 Top Cyberattacks of 2020 and How to Build Cyberresiliency
A social engineering phishing plan was used against Magellan Health to conduct a cyberattack that involved exporting data and launching ransomware. Overall, eight Magellan Health entities and approximately 365,000 patients were impacted by the ...
People also ask

What is the most recent cyber attack?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) was recently targeted by a sophisticated and targeted cyberattack discovered last week and now under investigation. Although the incident has been contained, the ICC hasn’t disclosed whether sensitive data was impacted. Ongoing analysis is underway to determine the full scope and potential fallout.
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secureframe.com
secureframe.com › home › blog › 20 recent cyber attacks & what they tell us about the future of cybersecurity
20 Recent Cyber Attacks & What They Tell Us About the Future of ...
What websites show recent cyber security attacks​?
To stay updated on real-time cyber threats, incidents, and breaches, consider these reputable sources:
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secureframe.com
secureframe.com › home › blog › 20 recent cyber attacks & what they tell us about the future of cybersecurity
20 Recent Cyber Attacks & What They Tell Us About the Future of ...
What is the most famous cyber attack?
One of the most famous recent cyber attacks is the NotPetya attack, which began in 2017, when Russian military hackers launched a malware attack targeting Ukraine that rapidly spread to more than 60 countries and destroyed the systems of thousands of multinational companies, including the global transport and logistics giant Maersk, the pharmaceutical giant Merck, FedEx’s European subsidiary TNT Express, French construction company Saint-Gobain, food producer Mondelēz, and manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser, among others. With the total damage estimated at more than $10 billion, NotPetya is still
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secureframe.com
secureframe.com › home › blog › 20 recent cyber attacks & what they tell us about the future of cybersecurity
20 Recent Cyber Attacks & What They Tell Us About the Future of ...
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Center for Strategic and International Studies
csis.org › csis programs › strategic technologies program
Significant Cyber Incidents | Strategic Technologies Program | CSIS
The report also mentioned this ... back to 2020. May 2024: Recent media reports stated Pakistani cyber spies deployed malware against India’s government, aerospace, and defense sectors. The group sent phishing emails masquerading as Indian defense officials to infect their targets' devices and access sensitive information. The attack’s extent ...
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Fortinet
fortinet.com › resources › cyberglossary › recent-cyber-attacks
Recent Cyber Attacks: Major Incidents & Key Trends | Fortinet
One of the most significant cyber attacks that occurred in 2020 was through a hacker known as ShinyHunters. The hacker stole around 386 million user records from 18 different companies between the start of the year and July.
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ECCU
eccu.edu › home › top ten cyberattacks of 2020-2021
The Top Ten Cyberattacks of 2020-2021 Revealed!
November 19, 2024 - Cybercriminals have taken this opportunity to up the ante in terms of the scope and frequency of such attacks. Worryingly, such criminals do not discriminate among individuals, governments, and organizations as potential targets. According to prnewswire.com, the FBI recently reported that the number of complaints about cyberattacks to their Cyber Division is up to as many as 4,000 a day. In this article, we have listed the top 10 cyberattacks of 2020-21 that caused immense havoc and financial losses.
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Arctic Wolf
arcticwolf.com › home › the top cyber attacks of december 2020
Top Cyber Attacks December 2020 | Arctic Wolf
January 5, 2024 - In one of the most catastrophic data breaches during all of 2020, foreign intelligence operatives took advantage of a compromised SolarWinds program and invaded an estimated 18,000 private and government-affiliated networks.
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The Guardian
theguardian.com › commentisfree › 2020 › dec › 23 › cyber-attack-us-security-protocols
The US has suffered a massive cyberbreach. It's hard to overstate how bad it is | Bruce Schneier | The Guardian
December 23, 2020 - We shouldn’t have to rely on a private company to alert us of a major nation-state attack.’ Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP ... This is a security failure of enormous proportions – and a wake-up call. The US must rethink its cybersecurity protocols · Wed 23 Dec 2020 06.45 ESTLast modified on Wed 23 Dec 2020 17.00 EST ... Recent news articles have all been talking about the massive Russian cyber-attack against the United States, but that’s wrong on two accounts.
Find elsewhere
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Secureframe
secureframe.com › home › blog › 20 recent cyber attacks & what they tell us about the future of cybersecurity
20 Recent Cyber Attacks & What They Tell Us About the Future of Cybersecurity
July 14, 2025 - Looking back at major attacks with the benefit of hindsight helps organizations learn from what went wrong and build stronger defenses. With this in mind, let’s look at some recent cyber attacks over the past 24 months.
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Ariacybersecurity
blog.ariacybersecurity.com › blog › the-top-10-most-significant-data-breaches-of-2020
The Top 10 Most Significant Data Breaches Of 2020
In April of 2020, when stay-at-home orders were turning millions into teleworkers, use of video conferencing apps rocketed—with Zoom the primary beneficiary of the increased demand. As record numbers of workers flocked to Zoom, cyber attackers were able to breach the credentials of over 500,000 Zoom teleconferencing accounts and post them for sale on the dark web for as little as $.02, or simply give the records away on various hacker forums.
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IBM
ibm.com › think › insights › decade-global-cyberattacks-where-they-left-us
A decade of global cyberattacks, and where they left us | IBM
November 18, 2025 - Remote work vulnerabilities saw increased attacks on remote work infrastructure. The SolarWinds hack, which took place in both 2019 and 2020, compromised multiple US government agencies and private companies.
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The Guardian
theguardian.com › technology › 2020 › dec › 18 › orion-hack-solarwinds-explainer-us-government
What we know – and still don’t – about the worst-ever US government cyber-attack | Hacking | The Guardian
January 6, 2021 - On Friday evening, secretary of state Mike Pompeo became the first Trump official to publicly confirm the attack was linked to Russia, telling a conservative radio host: “I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity.” · Previously, US officials speaking on condition of anonymity, as well as prominent cybersecurity experts, told media outlets they believed Russia was the culprit, specifically SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence outfit.
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CNBC
cnbc.com › 2020 › 12 › 18 › massive-cyber-attack-that-hit-government-agencies-and-microsoft-explained-solarwinds-russia-hackers.html
The massive cyber attack that hit government agencies and Microsoft, explained: CNBC After Hours
December 18, 2020 - The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a summary Thursday that the threat "poses a grave risk to the federal government." It added that "state, local, tribal, and territorial governments as well as critical infrastructure entities and other private sector organizations" are also at risk. CISA believes the attack began at least as early as March.
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Government Technology
govtech.com › blogs › lohrmann-on-cybersecurity › 2020-the-year-the-covid-19-crisis-brought-a-cyber-pandemic.html
2020: The Year the COVID-19 Crisis Brought a Cyber Pandemic
January 5, 2022 - One thing is certain, we will be talking about election security and more changes throughout the next decade. 3) More Ransomware Emergencies: The top cyber story from 2019 was how ransomware targeted state and local governments. In 2020, the surge in ransomware attacks continued with hospitals, schools and more being hit hard — with bigger ransoms being paid.
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PortSwigger
portswigger.net › daily-swig › cyber-attacks
Latest cyber-attack news | The Daily Swig
Whether they come from so-called hacktivist groups or state-sponsored cyber warfare units, this type of attack is increasingly giving cause for concern. The Daily Swig provides day-to-day coverage of recent cyber-attacks, arming organizations and users with the information they need to stay protected.
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PubMed Central
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC9367180
A deeper look into cybersecurity issues in the wake of Covid-19: A survey - PMC
In this context, on April 8, 2020, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint advisory describing how the COVID-19 pandemic was being exploited by cybercriminals and APT organizations (Deloitte, 2020). Concerns about phishing, malware and other attacks on communication networks were addressed in this advisory from organizations, such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. As the world focuses on the health and economic concerns posed by COVID-19, cybercriminals around the world
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SentinelOne
sentinelone.com › cybersecurity-101 › cybersecurity › cyber-attacks-in-the-united-states
Top 7 Cyber Attacks in the United States
October 13, 2025 - This incident raised an alarm for serious steps toward protection in critical infrastructure, including multi-factor authentication, so that such unauthorized access cannot be allowed. Solar Wind Breach: Discovered at the end of 2020, this ...
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Appsecengineer
appsecengineer.com › blog › the-biggest-cyber-attacks-in-the-last-20-years
The Biggest Cyber Attacks in the Last 20 years
The personal information of 11 million patients, such as names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and medical information, was posted on a hacking forum. The attacker claimed that the stolen data consisted of 17 files and 27.7 million database records. ... The 2020s have seen a continuation of the trend of increasing cyber-attacks.
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PurpleSec
purplesec.us › breach report
Recent Cyber Attacks In 2025 | The Breach Report
October 6, 2025 - Security experts provide analysis on the latest cyber attacks you need to know.
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PubMed Central
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC9755115
Cyber security in the age of COVID-19: A timeline and analysis of cyber-crime and cyber-attacks during the pandemic - PMC
The most recently listed attack in the table was 13th May 2020 (CNET, 2020). The table progresses the time period a bit further as it intends to provide more detail in regards to cyber-attacks experienced during this time. Sources were gathered from a number of locations.