Pentagon IT Service Provider Hacked: U.S. Government Secrets Exposed

A massive breach in cybersecurity has occurred at Leidos Holdings Inc., which is a key provider of information technology services to the United States government.

Hackers have released internal information, which has raised significant worries regarding the safety of sensitive government data managed by third-party contractors.

During the fiscal year 2022, Leidos secured $3.98 billion in contract commitments, making it the top federal information technology contractor. Leidos is well-known for its substantial work with the Pentagon and other government agencies.

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The company’s clients include the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, other agencies from the United States and other countries, and commercial organizations.

87% of Leidos’ revenue comes from contracts with the United States government.

According to the Cyber Press report, data consists of one gigabyte of files in the following formats: zip, msg, doc, jpg, png, xls/x, and pdf. These files are associated with Leidos technical assistance and its customers.

Part one of the data set has 451 files representing credits, and part two contains 6,500 files representing bitcoins or dollars.

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The documents disclosed are suspected to have been taken during two breaches that occurred in 2022 at Diligent Corp., a platform Leidos uses.

There is still a lack of clarity regarding the precise type and level of sensitivity of the data that were taken; however, the leak has brought to light vulnerabilities in the cybersecurity frameworks of businesses that manipulate sensitive government information.

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On a site dedicated to cybercrime, the documents that had been leaked were found. Bloomberg News examined some of the files, but they could not verify their legitimacy because the details were disguised.

No information regarding the nature or specifics of these documents has been made available to the general public.

Cyber Press report indicates that Leidos has recently become aware of the problem and is investigating to determine the breach’s scope.

Therefore, the corporation has not yet issued a public comment regarding the particulars of the leaked documents or the actions it is taking to lessen the impact of the document breach. Leidos has chosen not to comment on the information that was stolen publicly.

Concerns regarding the potential misuse of sensitive information have been further exacerbated by the threat actor responsible for the breach’s indication that they intend to sell the data in two distinct categories.

Due to this occurrence, the security standards and precautions that government contractors take have been the subject of a more extensive discussion.

A data breach of this nature can have a wide range of repercussions, including financial losses, damage to reputation, disruptions to operations, and legal issues.

Cybersecurity experts warn that breaches such as this can significantly harm customers’ trust and subject firms to harsh scrutiny from regulators and customers.

Through its information technology services and solutions, Leidos, established in 2013 and later acquired Lockheed Martin Corporation’s information technology business, plays an essential part in protecting the nation’s security.

The latest security breach has forced the organization to take urgent action to determine the extent of the damage and strengthen its defenses against future assaults.

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