Widely Used Software Company May Be Entry Point for Huge U.S. Hacking
Summary
American intelligence agencies and private cybersecurity investigators are examining the role of a widely used software company, JetBrains, in the far-reaching Russian hacking of federal agencies, private corporations and United States infrastructure, according to officials and executives briefed on the inquiry. Officials are investigating whether the company, founded by three Russian engineers in the Czech Republic with research labs in Russia, was breached and used as a pathway for hackers to insert back doors into the software of an untold number of technology companies. Security experts warn that the monthslong intrusion could be the biggest breach of United States networks in history. JetBrains, which counts 79 of the Fortune 100 companies as customers, is used by developers at 300,000 businesses. One of them is SolarWinds, the company based in Austin, Texas, whose network management software played a central role in allowing hackers into government and private networks.