popular software in the world that allows users to access and share
their desktops remotely, was reportedly compromised in 2016, the
German newspaper Der Spiegel revealed today.
TeamViewer is popular remote-support software that allows you to
securely share your desktop or take full control of other’s PC over
the Internet from anywhere in the world. With millions of users
making use of its service, TeamViewer has always been a target of
interest for attackers.
According to the publication,
the cyber attack was launched by hackers with Chinese origin who
used Winnti trojan malware, activities of which have previously
been found linked to the Chinese state intelligence system.
[1]
Active since at least 2010, Winnti advanced persistent threat (APT)
group has previously launched a series of financial attacks against
software and gaming organizations primarily in the United States,
Japan, and South Korea.
The group is known for using supply chain attacks by infecting
legitimate software or servers with malicious updates to install
malware on end-users’ systems.
Once infected, Winnti downloads a backdoor payload on the
compromised computers giving attackers the ability to remotely
control the victims’ computers without their knowledge.
Der Spiegel criticized TeamViewer company for not disclosing the
intrusion to the public to inform its customers, many of which are
using the targeted software in businesses.
However, when The Hacker News contacted the company, TeamViewer
said it discovered the cyber attack “in time” soon after detecting
suspicious activities and took immediate action to “prevent any
major damage.”
TeamViewer also said both their team and the responsible
authorities at that time found no evidence that customer data was
stolen, or computer systems of its customers were infected.
Here’s complete statement TeamViewer shared with The Hacker
News:
“Like many technology leaders, TeamViewer is frequently confronted
with attacks by cyber criminals. For this reason, we continuously
invest in the advancement of our IT security and cooperate closely
with globally renowned institutions in this field.”
“In autumn 2016, TeamViewer was target of a cyber-attack. Our
systems detected the suspicious activities in time to prevent any
major damage. An expert team of internal and external cyber
security researchers, working together closely with the responsible
authorities, successfully fended off the attack and with all
available means of IT forensics found no evidence that customer
data or other sensitive information had been stolen, that customer
computer systems had been infected or that the TeamViewer source
code had been manipulated, stolen or misused in any other way.”
comprehensive audit of its security architecture and IT
infrastructure subsequently and further strengthened it with
appropriate measures.”
TeamViewer also confirmed The Hacker News that the reported
breach is not anyhow connected to another hacking
event[2] happened in May 2016
when TeamViewer users claimed that hackers emptied their bank
accounts by exploiting a flaw in the software.
Also, in a press
release[3] published at that time,
TeamViewer claimed that neither the company was hacked nor there
was a security hole; instead, it blamed users for carelessly using
the software.
References
- ^
publication
(www.spiegel.de) - ^
another hacking event
(thehackernews.com) - ^
press release
(www.teamviewer.com)
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