{"id":128035,"date":"2025-07-23T15:26:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T23:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/07\/23\/cloroxs-multi-million-dollar-lawsuit-reveals-embarrassing-security-protocol\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T15:26:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T23:26:46","slug":"cloroxs-multi-million-dollar-lawsuit-reveals-embarrassing-security-protocol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/07\/23\/cloroxs-multi-million-dollar-lawsuit-reveals-embarrassing-security-protocol\/","title":{"rendered":"Clorox\u2019s Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuit Reveals Embarrassing Security Protocol"},"content":{"rendered":"

When most people think of hacking, they probably think of some Matrix-like montage of all-black suits, otherworldy tech savvy, and an obligatory \u201cI\u2019m in\u201d once everything goes as planned:<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Lo and behold: movies and YouTube shorts may not be the most accurate reflections of reality. Turns out that all some multi-million dollar hacking schemes require is to just ask for the victim\u2019s password. NBC News<\/a> has coverage:<\/p>\n

\n

Bleach maker Clorox said Tuesday that it has sued information technology provider Cognizant over a devastating 2023 cyberattack, alleging that [Scattered Spider, a hacking group] pulled off the intrusion simply by asking the tech company\u2019s staff for employees\u2019 passwords.
\u2026
\u201cCognizant was not duped by any elaborate ploy or sophisticated hacking techniques,\u201d according to a copy of the lawsuit<\/a> reviewed by Reuters. \u201cThe cybercriminal just called the Cognizant Service Desk, asked for credentials to access Clorox\u2019s network, and Cognizant handed the credentials right over.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s something poetic about the idea that a tech company named Cognizant would not be aware of an imminent \u201chacking.\u201d Cognizant\u2019s alleged lack of awareness ultimately cost around $380M in damages. Everyone can admit that two-factor authentication is annoying, but come on people \u2014 you should at least have 1 factor!<\/p>\n

The Record<\/a> was able to get Cognizant\u2019s take on the repeated security breaches. Cognizant\u2019s spokesperson placed the blame on Clorox, saying that it was \u201cshocking that a corporation the size of Clorox had such an inept internal cybersecurity system to mitigate this attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is actually responsible will be for courts to figure out, but the story as it stands makes it look like everyone but Scattered Spider fell asleep at the wheel. Clorox\u2019s \u201cNo, you\u201d account of what happened is pretty damning:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe Agent further reset Employee 1\u2019s MFA credentials multiple times without any identity verification at all. And at no point did the Agent send the required emails to the employee or the employee\u2019s manager to alert them of the password reset.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Clorox reportedly gave Cognizant instructions to verify a caller\u2019s identity before giving away passwords \u2014 something the suit claims Cognizant employees failed to do at least<\/em> three times.<\/p>\n

Keep your eyes peeled, the FBI has recently announced that Scattered Spider has pivoted attention toward airlines.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

ALERT\u2014The FBI has recently observed the cybercriminal group Scattered Spider expanding its targeting to include the airline sector. These actors rely on social engineering techniques, often impersonating employees or contractors to deceive IT help desks into granting access.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/gowmbsAbBY<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 FBI (@FBI) June 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Considering Boeing already has trouble securing their airplane doors<\/a>, I wouldn\u2019t be too surprised if someone finds security issues with their tech.<\/p>\n

Lawsuit Says Clorox Hackers Got Passwords Simply By Asking <\/a>[NBC News]<\/p>\n

Clorox Lawsuit Says Help-Desk Contractors Handed Over Passwords In 2023 Cyberattack <\/a>[The Record]<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . \u00a0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim,\u00a0is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at\u00a0cwilliams@abovethelaw.com<\/a> and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Clorox\u2019s Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuit Reveals Embarrassing Security Protocol<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When most people think of hacking, they probably think of some Matrix-like montage of all-black suits, otherworldy tech savvy, and an obligatory \u201cI\u2019m in\u201d once everything goes as planned:<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Lo and behold: movies and YouTube shorts may not be the most accurate reflections of reality. Turns out that all some multi-million dollar hacking schemes require is to just ask for the victim\u2019s password. NBC News<\/a> has coverage:<\/p>\n

\n

Bleach maker Clorox said Tuesday that it has sued information technology provider Cognizant over a devastating 2023 cyberattack, alleging that [Scattered Spider, a hacking group] pulled off the intrusion simply by asking the tech company\u2019s staff for employees\u2019 passwords.
\u2026
\u201cCognizant was not duped by any elaborate ploy or sophisticated hacking techniques,\u201d according to a copy of the lawsuit<\/a> reviewed by Reuters. \u201cThe cybercriminal just called the Cognizant Service Desk, asked for credentials to access Clorox\u2019s network, and Cognizant handed the credentials right over.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s something poetic about the idea that a tech company named Cognizant would not be aware of an imminent \u201chacking.\u201d Cognizant\u2019s alleged lack of awareness ultimately cost around $380M in damages. Everyone can admit that two-factor authentication is annoying, but come on people \u2014 you should at least have 1 factor!<\/p>\n

The Record<\/a> was able to get Cognizant\u2019s take on the repeated security breaches. Cognizant\u2019s spokesperson placed the blame on Clorox, saying that it was \u201cshocking that a corporation the size of Clorox had such an inept internal cybersecurity system to mitigate this attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is actually responsible will be for courts to figure out, but the story as it stands makes it look like everyone but Scattered Spider fell asleep at the wheel. Clorox\u2019s \u201cNo, you\u201d account of what happened is pretty damning:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe Agent further reset Employee 1\u2019s MFA credentials multiple times without any identity verification at all. And at no point did the Agent send the required emails to the employee or the employee\u2019s manager to alert them of the password reset.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Clorox reportedly gave Cognizant instructions to verify a caller\u2019s identity before giving away passwords \u2014 something the suit claims Cognizant employees failed to do at least<\/em> three times.<\/p>\n

Keep your eyes peeled, the FBI has recently announced that Scattered Spider has pivoted attention toward airlines.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

ALERT\u2014The FBI has recently observed the cybercriminal group Scattered Spider expanding its targeting to include the airline sector. These actors rely on social engineering techniques, often impersonating employees or contractors to deceive IT help desks into granting access.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/gowmbsAbBY<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 FBI (@FBI) June 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Considering Boeing already has trouble securing their airplane doors<\/a>, I wouldn\u2019t be too surprised if someone finds security issues with their tech.<\/p>\n

Lawsuit Says Clorox Hackers Got Passwords Simply By Asking <\/a>[NBC News]<\/p>\n

Clorox Lawsuit Says Help-Desk Contractors Handed Over Passwords In 2023 Cyberattack <\/a>[The Record]<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . \u00a0He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim,\u00a0is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at\u00a0cwilliams@abovethelaw.com<\/a> and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Clorox\u2019s Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuit Reveals Embarrassing Security Protocol<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When most people think of hacking, they probably think of some Matrix-like montage of all-black suits, otherworldy tech savvy, and an obligatory \u201cI\u2019m in\u201d once everything goes as planned: Lo and behold: movies and YouTube shorts may not be the most accurate reflections of reality. Turns out that all some multi-million dollar hacking schemes require […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":128036,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Chris-Williams-2025-NmxjBA.jpg?fit=512%2C288&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}