Timeline
Company XYZ, a leading provider of cloud services, was targeted due to its high-value client data.
Jan. 31st 2025 - Trump claims DOGE don't have direct access to any government systems where money is dispersed.
Feb. 1st 2025 - Elon Musk threatened to call the U.S. Marshals on USAID Director of Security and their Deputy when DOGE employees weren't immediately allowed access to USAID systems and classified areas.
The U.S. Agency for International Development's Director of Security and their Deputy were placed on administrative leave (they were fired) after they tried to prevent employees from DOGE from accessing USAID systems.
DOGE employees were given an unknown level of access to USAID systems later this day.
Feb. 2nd 2025 - Musk says "We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper." on X.
What is a hack?
A phishing campaign was launched against employees, leading to credential theft and unauthorized access.
What have they gotten access to?
Attackers escalated privileges using an unpatched vulnerability, gaining full system control.
What are we doing about it?
Sensitive customer data was exfiltrated, causing financial losses and reputational damage.
Mitigation & Lessons Learned
Implementing MFA, employee security training, and regular system patching could have prevented the attack.