In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, chip giant Intel has confirmed that it was targeted by a “sophisticated” attack last month. Intel said that the threat wasn’t as broad-based as the Operation Aurora assault on Google and other companies, though it described the attacks as “sometimes successful.”
eSecurity Planet has the story on the attack, which fits into a troubling pattern of rising cyber intrusion.
Intel on Tuesday acknowledged that it, too, was the victim of a “sophisticated” cyber attack in January, right around the time Google, Adobe Systems, and more than two dozen other U.S.-based companies were infiltrated by hackers using a zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser as part of what has become known as “Operation Aurora.”
In its annual report filed with Securities and Exchange Commission, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) said that “one recent and sophisticated [cyber attack] incident occurred in January 2010 around the same time as the recently publicized security incident reported by Google.”
Intel officials said the January attack didn’t result in the loss of any intellectual property or damage to its network and wasn’t as “broad-based” as the attack described by Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE), and others.
“These attempts, which might be the result of industrial or other espionage, or actions by hackers seeking to harm the company, its products, or end users, are sometimes successful,” the company said in its 10-K filing. “We seek to detect and investigate these security incidents and to prevent their recurrence, but in some cases we might be unaware of an incident or its magnitude and effects.”
