1. ✅ What Happened
In December 2020, it was discovered that hackers had compromised SolarWinds, a widely used IT management platform. Attackers inserted malicious code into the Orion software updates, which were then unknowingly downloaded by over 18,000 organizations, including U.S. government agencies, Microsoft, and Fortune 500 companies.
2. 🛠️ Technical Challenge
This was a sophisticated supply chain attack. The malware, dubbed SUNBURST, stayed dormant for weeks before silently communicating with external servers. It was highly stealthy, used signed certificates, mimicked legitimate traffic, and allowed remote access to sensitive systems without detection for months.
3. 🧩 How It Was Resolved
Detection came not from SolarWinds, but from FireEye — a cybersecurity firm that discovered its own tools had been stolen. A global incident response effort followed, involving CISA, the NSA, and major security companies. Victims had to rebuild infrastructure, revoke certificates, and isolate infected systems. Full cleanup took over a year.
4. 🛡️ What You Can Do as an SMB
- Review your vendors and software supply chain — trust, but verify.
- Segment your network — one infected system shouldn’t expose the whole business.
- Monitor outbound traffic — attackers often exfiltrate data silently
- .Keep security tools isolated — so if one fails, others still defend.
