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SolarWinds was warned about potential cyber attack, cost-saving move to Europe may have exposed firm


A cybersecurity adviser says he warned SolarWinds of a potential ‘catastrophic’ attack if the company didn’t amp up internal security measures and the firm’s move to Eastern Europe may have exposed it to the massive Russian hack.    

In late December it was revealed that the sprawling cyber-espionage attack led by state-backed Russian hackers affected more than 250 federal agencies and private companies beginning as early as October 2019, but went undetected for months. 

In the breach, hackers gained access to government and private networks by inserting malicious code recent versions of SolarWinds’ premier software product, Orion.  

Ian Thornton-Trump, a former cybersecurity adviser at SolarWinds, said he urged management in 2017 to take a more aggressive approach with its internal security, warning that a cybersecurity episode would be ‘catastrophic’, according to a New York Times report published Saturday.

He said he gave a PowerPoint presentation to three SolarWinds executives urging them to install a cybersecurity senior director because he thought a major breach was inevitable, Bloomberg reported.   

When his recommendations were ignored, he left the company a month later. 

Staffers say the CEO of SolarWinds, which is based in Austin, Texas, cut security measure to save costs and the company moved several engineering offices to Eastern Europe. 

But that move may have made the company vulnerable to the breach as some of the compromised SolarWinds software was engineered there and Russian intelligence operatives are deeply rooted in that region.

Ian Thornton-Trump, a former cybersecurity adviser at SolarWinds, said he urged management in 2017 to take a more aggressive approach with its internal security, warning that a cybersecurity episode would be 'catastrophic'

When his recommendations were ignored, he left the company a month later

Ian Thornton-Trump, a former cybersecurity adviser at SolarWinds, said he urged management in 2017 to take a more aggressive approach with its internal security, warning that a cybersecurity episode would be ‘catastrophic’. When his recommendations were ignored, he left the company a month later

In the breach, hackers gained access to government and private networks by inserting malicious code recent versions of SolarWinds' premier software product, Orion. SolarWinds headquarters in Austin, Texas above

In the breach, hackers gained access to government and private networks by inserting malicious code recent versions of SolarWinds’ premier software product, Orion. SolarWinds headquarters in Austin, Texas above

Past and current employees SolarWinds had lackluster security measures in place. Chief Executive Kevin B. Thompson (above) cut common security practices to save costs and his approach almost tripled SolarWinds' annual profit margins to more than $453million in 2019 from $152milliom in 2010

Past and current employees SolarWinds had lackluster security measures in place. Chief Executive…

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