Maxar Space Systems reported a data breach in which several Maxar employees’ Personal Identifying Information was stolen from a Hong Kong-based IP address intrusion. The article states that the internal network was not compromised, suggesting that attackers only gain access to a separate Human Resource network/database. The attack was spotted on October 11th and resolved. This affected division of Maxar Technologies is responsible for the development of the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) for the Lunar Gateway scheduled to launch no earlier than 2027.
This attack demonstrates a targeting reconnaissance effort for potential follow-on attacks like phishing and ransomware to achieve privileged based access to internal Maxar networks. As the PPE moves towards Integration and Test, Maxar Space Systems employees may be especially vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks from innocuous sources (social media, spoofed targeting advertising links on social media platforms, etc) that would enable attackers to gain better understanding of personnel password habits for use in attacks driven to enable access to Maxar’s internal network.
Link: US space tech firm Maxar says employee personal data leaked in hack