Leaked report shows United Nations suffered hack

ronjor · Jan 29, 2020

by Jamey Keaten January 29, 2020

An internal confidential document from the United Nations, leaked to The New Humanitarian and seen by The Associated Press, says that dozens of servers were "compromised" at its offices in Geneva and Vienna.
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FanJ · Jan 29, 2020

Article by The New Humanitarian
EXCLUSIVE: The cyber attack the UN tried to keep under wraps
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigation/2020/01/29/united-nations-cyber-attack

About this investigation:
While researching cybersecurity last November, we came across a confidential report about the UN. Networks and databases had been severely compromised – and almost no one we spoke to had heard about it. This article about that attack adds to The New Humanitarian’s previous coverage on humanitarian data. We look at how the UN got hacked and how it handled this breach, raising questions about the UN’s responsibilities in data protection and its diplomatic privileges.
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At a glance: Key findings

• Hackers broke into dozens of UN servers starting in July 2019.
• A senior UN IT official called the incident a “major meltdown”.
• Staff records, health insurance, and commercial contract data were compromised.
• Staff were asked to change their passwords but not told about the breach.
• Under diplomatic immunity, the UN is not obliged to divulge what was obtained by the hackers or notify those affected.
• The attack might have been avoided with a simple patch to fix a software bug.
• Systems in Geneva and Vienna used by thousands of staff were compromised.
• A UN spokesperson says the attack triggered a rebuild of multiple systems.
• UN officials warned of major vulnerabilities years ago.
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Leaked report shows United Nations suffered hack

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Leaked report shows United Nations suffered hack

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