Hackers have stolen data from the systems of a number of users of the popular file transfer tool MOVEit Transfer, US security researchers said on Thursday, a day after the software maker revealed that a security flaw had been discovered.
After disclosing the vulnerability on Wednesday, software maker Progress Software Corp said it could lead to potential unauthorized access to users’ systems.
The Burlington, Mass.-based company’s managed file transfer software enables organizations to transfer files and data between business partners and customers.
It was not immediately clear which or how many organizations use the software or were affected by the potential breaches. Chief Information Officer Ian Pitt declined to share those details, but said Progress Software has made patches available since discovering the vulnerability late on May 28.
It also affected the software’s eponymous cloud service,”At this point, we don’t see any abuse of the cloud platform,” he said.
Cybersecurity firms Rapid7 Inc and Mandiant Consulting – owned by Alphabet Inc’s Google – said they had found a number of cases where the flaw had been exploited to steal data.
“There has been a massive data breach and theft in recent days,” Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting, said in a statement.
Such zerodays, or previously unknown vulnerabilities, in managed file transfer solutions have led to data theft, data breaches, blackmail and victim shaming in the past, Mandiant said.
“Although Mandiant does not yet know the threat actor’s motivation, organizations should prepare for potential extortion and disclosure of stolen data,” Carmakal said.
Rapid7 said it has seen an increase in cases of compromise related to the bug since it was discovered. Progress Software has outlined steps that affected users can take to mitigate the impact of this security flaw. Pitt would not comment on who might have been trying to steal data by exploiting the flaw. “We have no evidence that it was used to spread malware,” he said.
MOVEit Transfer has been used by a relatively “small” number of customers compared to the company’s other software products, which have more than 20, he said. “We have forensic partners on board and are working with them to ensure we have an ever-evolving view of the situation.”
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