Cybersecurity

Software firm investigates digital breach

Okta, a software company based in San Francisco, said it is investigating a possible digital breach after hackers posted screenshots of internal information, according to Reuters.

The software company said the breach could be related to an incident in January that was contained. Okta said it prevented the hackers from compromising the account of a third-party customer support engineer.

“We believe the screenshots shared online are connected to this January event,” said Chris Hollis, a senior manager at Okta. “Based on our investigation to date, there is no evidence of ongoing malicious activity beyond the activity detected in January.”

According to Reuters, the screenshots were posted on Monday by a hacking group known as Laspus$ on their telegram channel. The hackers said they were targeting “ONLY on Okta customers.”

The software firm provides authenticator services to over 15,000 customers including companies like Fedex and Moody.

The breach follows the White House on Monday urging the private sector to strengthen its cyber defenses against possible Russian cyberattacks.  

Anne Neuberger, White House deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, told reporters that although there are no credible threats against the U.S. at the moment, U.S. intelligence officials have seen some “preparatory activity” suggesting the Russian government is exploring “options for potential cyberattacks” against critical infrastructure.

Administration officials said they notified companies in critical sectors that could be impacted in a classified meeting last week.

Okta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.