{"id":8997,"date":"2015-06-10T08:00:38","date_gmt":"2015-06-10T12:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/?p=8997"},"modified":"2020-02-27T03:55:58","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T16:55:58","slug":"kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/8997\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaspersky Lab investigates hacker attack on its own network"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve got some bad news  and some good news.<\/p>\n<h3>The bad news<\/h3>\n<p>The bad news is that we  discovered an advanced attack on our own internal  networks. It was complex, stealthy, it exploited several <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/internet-security-center\/definitions\/zero-day-exploit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">zero-day vulnerabilities<\/a>, and we\u2019re quite confident that there\u2019s a  nation state behind it. We\u2019ve called it <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/research\/70504\/the-mystery-of-duqu-2-0-a-sophisticated-cyberespionage-actor-returns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Duqu 2.0<\/a>. Why Duqu 2.0 and what it  has in common with the original <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/blog\/incidents\/31177\/the-mystery-of-duqu-part-one-5\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Duqu<\/a>? \u2013 See <a href=\"http:\/\/media.kaspersky.com\/en\/Duqu-2-0-Frequently-Asked-Questions.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/102\/2015\/06\/06024723\/duqu2_w.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/102\/2015\/06\/06024723\/duqu2_w.jpg\" alt=\"duqu2_w\" width=\"1500\" height=\"984\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9015\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>The good news \u2013 pt. 1: We uncovered it<\/h3>\n<p>The first bit of good  news is that we found something <em>really<\/em> big here. Indeed, the cost of developing and maintaining such a malicious  framework is colossal. The thinking behind it is a <em>generation<\/em> ahead of anything we\u2019d seen earlier \u2013 it uses a number  of tricks that make it really difficult to detect and neutralize. It looks like  the people behind Duqu 2.0 were fully confident it would be impossible to have  their clandestine activity exposed; however, we did manage to detect it \u2013 with  the alpha version of our Anti-<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/apt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">APT<\/a> solution,  designed to tackle even the most sophisticated targeted attacks.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-pullquote\"><p>@kaspersky nails nation-state attack on its network. Products &amp; services not compromised; no risks for customers<\/p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fkas.pr%2FgcX4&amp;text=%40kaspersky+nails+nation-state+attack+on+its+network.+Products+%26%23038%3B+services+not+compromised%3B+no+risks+for+customers\" class=\"btn btn-twhite\" data-lang=\"en\" data-count=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Tweet<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<h3>The good news \u2013 pt. 2: Our customers  are safe<\/h3>\n<p>Most importantly, neither our products nor services have been compromised,  so our customers face no risks whatsoever due to the breach.<\/p>\n<h3>The details<\/h3>\n<p>The attackers were interested in learning about our technologies,  particularly our <a href=\"https:\/\/business.kaspersky.com\/security-within-kaspersky-lab-launches-kaspersky-security-system\/3667\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Secure Operating System<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/business-security\/fraud-prevention\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Kaspersky Fraud Prevention<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/ksn.kaspersky.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Kaspersky Security Network<\/a>, Anti-APT solution, and services. The bad guys also wanted to find out  about our ongoing investigations and learn about our detection methods and  analysis capabilities. Since we\u2019re well known for successfully fighting  sophisticated threats they sought this information to try stay under our radar.  No chance.<\/p>\n<p>Attacking us was hardly the smart move: they\u2019ve now lost a very  expensive technologically-advanced framework they\u2019d been developing for years. Besides,  they tried to spy on our technologies\u2026 which are accessible under licensing  agreements (at least some of them)!<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-pullquote\"><p>#Duqu2 tried to steal @kaspersky technologies and snoop on ongoing investigations to stay under the radar<\/p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fkas.pr%2FgcX4&amp;text=%23Duqu2+tried+to+steal+%40kaspersky+technologies+and+snoop+on+ongoing++investigations+to+stay+under+the+radar\" class=\"btn btn-twhite\" data-lang=\"en\" data-count=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Tweet<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<p>We\u2019ve found that the group behind Duqu 2.0 also spied on several prominent  targets, including participants in the international negotiations on Iran\u2019s  nuclear program and in the 70th anniversary event of the liberation  of Auschwitz. Though the internal investigation is still underway we\u2019re  confident that the prevalence of this attack is much wider and has included  more top ranking targets from various countries. I also think it\u2019s highly  likely that after we detected Duqu 2.0 the people behind the attack wiped their  presence on the infected networks to prevent exposure.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pullquote\">Duqu 2.0 spied on hi-profile  targets, incl. dignitaries at Iran nuclear talks and Auschwitz anniversary \u2013  but that\u2019s just tip of the iceberg<\/div>\n<p>We, in turn, will use this attack to improve our defensive technologies.  New knowledge is always helpful, and better threat intelligence assists us in developing  better protection. And of course, we\u2019ve already added the detection of Duqu 2.0  to our products. So, in fact, there\u2019s not really much bad news here at all.<\/p>\n<p>As mentioned, our  investigation is still underway; it will require a few more weeks to get the  whole picture in all its detail. However, we\u2019ve already verified that the  source code of our products is intact. We can confirm that our malware databases  have not been affected, and that the attackers had no access to our customers\u2019 data.<\/p>\n<p>You may ask at this  point why we\u2019ve disclosed this information, or whether we\u2019re afraid it may  damage our reputation.<\/p>\n<p>Well, first, <em>not<\/em> disclosing \u2013 that would be like not  reporting a car accident with casualties to the police because it may hurt your  no-claims bonus. Besides, we know the anatomy of targeted attacks well enough  to understand there\u2019s nothing to be ashamed of in disclosing such an attack \u2013  they can happen to anyone. (Remember: there are two just types of companies \u2013  those that have been attacked and those that don\u2019t know they\u2019ve been attacked.)  By disclosing the attack we (i) send a signal to the public and question the  validity \u2013 and morality \u2013 of presumably a state-sponsored attacks against  private business in general, and security companies in particular; and (ii) share  our knowledge with other businesses to help them protect their assets. Even if it  does hurt \u2018reputation\u2019 \u2013 I don\u2019t care. Our mission is to save the world, and  that admits no compromise.<\/p>\n<h3>Who\u2019s behind the attack? What nation?<\/h3>\n<p>Let me say this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/eugenekaspersky\/2015\/02\/25\/the-most-sophisticated-cyber-espionage-campaign-ever-but-whos-behind-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">again<\/a>: we don\u2019t attribute attacks. We\u2019re security  experts \u2013 the best \u2013 and we don\u2019t want to dilute our core competence by getting  into politics. At the same time, as a committed supporter of responsible disclosure  we\u2019ve filed statements with law enforcement agencies in several countries for  them to start criminal investigations. We also reported the detected zero-day to  Microsoft, which in turn recently <a href=\"https:\/\/technet.microsoft.com\/library\/security\/MS15-061\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">patched<\/a> it (don\u2019t forget to install  the Windows update).<\/p>\n<p>I just want to let  everybody do their job and see the world change for the better.<\/p>\n<p>Wrapping up this announcement I\u2019d like to share a very serious concern.<\/p>\n<p>Governments attacking IT security companies is simply outrageous. We\u2019re  supposed to be on the same side as responsible nations, sharing the common goal  of a safe and secure cyberworld. We share our knowledge to fight cybercrime and  help investigations become more effective. There are many things we do together  to make this cyberworld a better place. But now we see some members of this \u2018community\u2019  paying no respect to laws, professional ethics or common sense.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pullquote\">People living in glass houses  shouldn\u2019t throw stones.<\/div>\n<p>To me, it\u2019s another clear signal we need globally-accepted rules of the  game to curb digital espionage and prevent cyberwarfare. If various murky  groups \u2013 often government-linked \u2013 treat the Internet as a Wild West with no  rules and run amok with impunity, it will put the sustainable global progress  of information technologies at serious risk. So I\u2019m <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/eugenekaspersky\/2015\/05\/29\/the-internet-badly-needs-rules-and-regulations-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">once again<\/a> calling on all responsible governments to come  together and agree on such rules, and to fight <em>against<\/em> cybercrime and malware, not sponsor and promote it.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-pullquote\"><p>@kaspersky calling on nation-states to respect rules, ethics and common sense in cyberspace. Not for the 1st time<\/p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fkas.pr%2FgcX4&amp;text=%40kaspersky+calling+on+nation-states+to+respect+rules%2C+ethics+and+common+sense+in+cyberspace.+Not+for+the+1st+time\" class=\"btn btn-twhite\" data-lang=\"en\" data-count=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Tweet<\/a><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kaspersky Lab has discovered an advanced attack on its own internal network and is sharing its investigation results. TL;DR \u2013 Customers are safe; neither products nor services have been compromised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":8996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[499,197,729,78,352,36,81],"class_list":{"0":"post-8997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-apt","9":"tag-duqu","10":"tag-espionage","11":"tag-hackers","12":"tag-kaspersky-lab","13":"tag-malware-2","14":"tag-targeted-attacks"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/8997\/"},{"hreflang":"en-ae","url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/4909\/"},{"hreflang":"ar","url":"https:\/\/me.kaspersky.com\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/3421\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/5413\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/5858\/"},{"hreflang":"es-mx","url":"https:\/\/latam.kaspersky.com\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/5614\/"},{"hreflang":"es","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.es\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/6231\/"},{"hreflang":"it","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.it\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/6178\/"},{"hreflang":"ru","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.ru\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/8125\/"},{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/8997\/"},{"hreflang":"fr","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.fr\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/4577\/"},{"hreflang":"pt-br","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.br\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/5407\/"},{"hreflang":"de","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.de\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/5457\/"},{"hreflang":"ja","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.co.jp\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/7902\/"},{"hreflang":"ru-kz","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.kz\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/8125\/"},{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/kaspersky-statement-duqu-attack\/8997\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/tag\/apt\/","name":"APT"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8997"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26713,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8997\/revisions\/26713"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}