A new joint cybersecurity advisory is warning organizations that use the virtual private network Ivanti Connect Secure and network access control platform Ivanti Policy Secure.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Thursday led the joint report which found that threat actors are exploiting the vulnerabilities of the Ivanti products for data exfiltration, credential theft and other attacks.

In incident response tests conducted by CISA, threat actors disabled the ability of Ivanti’s internal and previous external integrity checker tool to detect compromise. Factory resets will not likely prevent the attackers from gaining root-level access.

The advisory recommends that affected organizations limit their outbound internet and SSL VPN connections, and do regular firmware and operating system updates.

The international statement was unanimously issued by the Five Eyes, an intelligence alliance of the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and United Kingdom.

“Since initial disclosure of these vulnerabilities, CISA and our partners have urgently worked to provide actionable guidance and assist impacted victims,” said CISA Executive Assistant Director Eric Goldstein. “This includes an emergency directive to remove and rebuild vulnerable Ivanti devices to reduce risk to federal systems upon which Americans depend.”

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Darron Makrokanis, chief revenue officer at Xage Security, said the new executive order that aims to boost the security of the U.S. ports is a “big step in the right direction” to address cyber risks facing the nation’s critical infrastructure sector, Security Magazine reported Thursday.

The Potomac Officers Club will host the 2024 Cyber Summit on June 6 to discuss the ever-evolving role of cyber across the government sector. Click here to register!

“To safeguard against evolving threats, we must establish a standardized level of proactive defense and move beyond just monitoring and detection. Taking control of the supply chain for both software and hardware that powers our maritime infrastructure and other critical industries is a big step in the right direction,” Makrokanis said.

President Biden issued the EO to implement a series of additional measures to strengthen maritime cybersecurity and secure the U.S. supply chains and industrial base.

The decree authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to deal with maritime cyber threats by implementing cybersecurity standards to ensure the security of U.S. ports’ networks and systems.

Under the EO, the Coast Guard will issue a Maritime Security Directive to ensure cyber risk management actions for China-manufactured ship-to-shore cranes located at U.S. commercial strategic seaports.

The Biden administration also plans to invest more than $20 billion into U.S. port infrastructure over the next five years through the President’s Investing in America Agenda.

The Potomac Officers Club will host the 2024 Cyber Summit on June 6 to discuss the ever-evolving role of cyber across the government sector. Click here to register!