Nobelium, the group that hacked SolarWinds in 2020, is now targeting the global IT supply chain.

David Kennedy, the founder of cybersecurity companies TrustedSec and Binary Defense, and a former marine who conducted cyber missions for the U.S. military and the National Security Agency, says the prospect of a successful cyberattack on the US supply chain gave him sleepless nights.  (CNBC)

Kennedy told Power Lunch on supply chain attacks that a single hack could impact hundreds of thousands of companies around the world.

He said he was concerned about not only sophisticated US adversaries such as China and Russia, but also the increasingly aggressive ransomware criminals.

Nobelium on the prowl again

On Monday, Tom Burt, corporate vice president of customer security and trust at Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), said in a blog that the Russia-linked hacking group known as Nobelium, which attacked Solarwinds (NASDAQ: SWI) last year, is still active.

According to Burt, the group was using the same modus operandi but was now targeting a different part of the IT supply chain – namely resellers and technology providers.

“They’ve had a lot of success,” Kennedy said, referring to Nobelium. “They targeted Ukrainian tax software, they then continued with Solarwinds and now we’re seeing them target man-to-man service providers.”

Cloud computing vulnerable

According to Kennedy, emboldened bad actors could target the increasingly vulnerable cloud computing – the next “evolution of attack.”

He felt it was time for the US to go on the offensive and take the battle into the enemy’s court.

“We have to do more going after these countries and holding them accountable, especially on ransomware.”

“It’s time to go on the offensive.”

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