Breach, Content

Intel Data Breach May Involve Intellectual Property: Report

Intel ($INTC) is investigating an alleged data breach that may involve 20GB of intellectual property accessed via an Intel partner portal, according to multiple reports.

In a statement about the alleged breach to Tom's Hardware, Intel said:

"We are investigating this situation. The information appears to come from the Intel Resource and Design Center, which hosts information for use by our customers, partners and other external parties who have registered for access. We believe an individual with access downloaded and shared this data."

If the Intel Resource and Design Center was breached, it would be the latest example of a partner-oriented supply chain incident hit by hackers. That particular website provides Intel partners with NDA documentation for product integration purposes, Tom's Hardware notes.

Speculation: Hitting Intel First, Partners Next?

It's unclear if the alleged breach involves so-called Buffalo Jumping. The term, frequently used by Perch Security, describes how hackers compromise a specific target in order to target and ultimately access multiple customers and partners.

The alleged Intel breach appears to be at least the second major attack on a well-known hardware company in recent days. The other involved Canon USA suffering a Maze ransomware attack.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.