Hackers accessed SolarWinds system for 9 months before breach was discovered

SolarWinds Corp. CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna said hackers had access to the company’s email system for at least nine months before the data breach was discovered last December, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company and investigators are still working to determine how the hackers gained access and the total impact of the breach, which could have affected close to 18,000 customers and is estimated to cost SolarWinds millions. “We have been evaluating mountains of data,” Ramakrishna said. Editor’s note: Mode Analytics Head of Security and Privacy Dr. Rafae Bhatti, CIPP/US, CIPM, explained what the SolarWinds attack can teach about managing the risk of cyber loss for The Privacy Advisor.