Fortinet confirms data breach

Global cybersecurity firm Fortinet has confirmed a data breach after a hacker claimed to have stolen 440GB of files from its Microsoft Sharepoint server. The hacker, going by the alias “Fortibitch”, claimed to have lifted the data from Fortinet’s Azure Sharepoint instance and shared credentials to an alleged S3 storage bucket where the stolen data resides. Fortinet is a prominent player in the cybersecurity industry, offering a range of secure networking products as well as broader solutions and consulting services.

Fortinet acknowledged that an individual did gain unauthorized access to a third-party cloud-based shared file drive, leading to the theft of customer data. However, the company did not reveal the number of customers affected or the nature of the compromised data. It stated that it had reached out directly to the impacted customers and shared that the hacker had unsuccessfully tried to extort the company before releasing the data.

The compromise affected less than 0.3% of Fortinet’s customer base and has not led to any malicious activity targeting customers, according to an update on the company’s website. The cybersecurity firm further confirmed that the data breach did not involve any data encryption, ransomware, or access to the company’s corporate network.

Fortinet faced a similar situation back in May 2023 when a threat actor claimed to have breached the GitHub repositories of the company Panopta, which was acquired by Fortinet in 2020. In the current incident, further queries from BleepingComputer about the breach have yet not elicited a response from Fortinet.