Fortinet affirms data breach after hacker claims to have stolen 440 GB of data

Cybersecurity firm Fortinet acknowledges that it suffered a data breach right after a threat actor claimed to have stolen 440 GB of data from the company’s Microsoft SharePoint server.

In a notice regarding the security incident, Fortinet states that “an individual gained unauthorized access to a limited number of files” that were stored on a third-party cloud-based file drive. Only a small number of clients (less than 0.3 percent) of Fortinet’s customers are affected by this recent data breach.

The cybersecurity firm says there’s no indication the threat actor used any of the stolen information for malicious activities. Fortinet’s operations, products, and services have not been impacted by the incident.

In addition, the company confirmed that the incident didn’t involve any data encryption, ransomware, or access to Fortinet’s corporate network.

“Given the limited nature of the incident, we have not experienced, and do not currently believe that the incident is reasonably likely to have, a material impact to our financial condition or operating results,” Fortinet says.

As soon as the incident came to light, employees immediately deployed their security protocols and mitigation plans to protect customers. Furthermore, the company launched an investigation in accordance with a third-party forensics firm.

Lastly, Fortinet took additional security measures to prevent a similar event from recurring, including enhanced account monitoring and threat detection measures.

On Thursday, a hacker that calls himself ‘Fortibitch’ posted a message to a dark web forum claiming he stole 440 GB of data from Fortinet’s Microsoft SharePoint server, containing data that was obtained from an open Amazon S3 bucket.

The threat actor tried to extort Fortinet into paying an unknown quantity of ransom. According to vx-underground, the cybersecurity firm allegedly said they’d rather “eat poop than pay a ransom”.

As of writing, Fortinet hasn’t submitted an 8-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). That’s a form businesses have to submit if an event occurs that might have a significant impact on the company’s day-to-day operations or financial conditions. That way a company can notify investors, shareholders, the SEC, and other stakeholders on urgent affairs.