One of the largest IT providers servicing the U.S. military-industrial complex suffered a major cybersecurity breach last week that is r...
One of the largest IT providers servicing the U.S. military-industrial complex suffered a major cybersecurity breach last week that is raising concerns about the safety of the establishment's most sensitive files and documents.
Leidos Holdings Inc. may not be a household name, but those who know of the company are aware of its close ties to the Pentagon, NASA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), among other powerful federal agencies. Leidos also works extensively with defense contractors, boasting $4 billion in services under contract in 2022 that rendered the company the largest federal IT contractor that year.
Other clients served by Leidos include the Department of Defense (DOD) and an array of private corporations. Federal contracts are the company's bread and butter, though, representing 87 percent of its revenue.
The recent hacking incident saw the theft of internal documents, though nobody seems to know its source. Leo Hohmann believes that this is how World War III is being fought: not with World War II-style weapons, but rather digitally through the internet.
Experts say the documents that were stolen and leaked in the hack are part of two other breaches that occurred in 2022 at Diligent Corp., a platform used by Leidos.
"The nature and sensitivity of the stolen documents remain unclear, but the leak underscores vulnerabilities in the cybersecurity frameworks of companies handling critical government information," reported Cyber Security News, as cited by Hohmann.
Is Leidos tied to CrowdStrike, which has servers in Ukraine to facilitate Zelensky's theft of $1 trillion-plus U.S. taxpayer dollars?
Cyber Press put together an investigation report with one gigabyte of data files in .zip, .msg, .doc, .jpg, .png, .xls/x, and .pdf format. All of the files are associated with the technical assistance Leidos provides to its customers.
Bloomberg News claims to have reviewed some of the files, though the news outlet could not verify their authenticity due to "obscured details."
"The exact content and nature of these documents have not been publicly disclosed," Hohmann notes.
There has not yet been a public statement issued by Leidos addressing the nature of the hack. The company is thus far refusing to comment on the stolen information.
The person or persons responsible for the hack indicated plans to sell the data in two different formats, which experts are concerned might put national security at risk.
"This incident has prompted a broader discussion on government contractors’ security measures and protocols," Cyber Security News reported. "The consequences of such data breaches are far-reaching, including financial losses, reputational damage, operational disruptions, and legal complications."
Leidos first came into existence in 2013. It was later acquired by defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp.'s information technology business.
"They can't protect themselves but they want us to believe they can protect us?" wrote one of Hohmann's subscribers about the U.S. government.
"I'm so glad every day that 98% of my life is lived in the physical world. I have no cell phone, I work in a diner where we accept cash only, I pay all my bills but my credit cards with cash and I know all my neighbor's names. I look around at how fast everyone's lives are changing and how much stress they face in their online worlds and am grateful I chose a different path."
Another connected the dots from Leidos to CrowdStrike, which has servers in Ukraine where Volodymyr Zelensky "has been bribing the feckless, dementia-ridden pedophile for the past four years with a fake proxy war and draining U.S. taxpayers dry to the tune of almost one trillion dollars," referring to Biden.
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