No evidence of systems breach as hacker group claims employee data exposure: HCLTech
New Delhi, Aug 11
IT services provider HCLTech has said its initial investigation found no evidence of a breach of the company's systems or any impact on client engagements following claims by a hacker group regarding the potential exposure of employee-related data.
In a stock exchange filing, HCLTech said it was responding to media reports that cited allegations by a hacker group about possible exposure of limited data elements relating to its employees.
"The company's initial investigation has revealed that the aforesaid data may be limited and dated to a few years back," the IT firm said.
It added that there was no evidence of breach at the company's systems or engagement with any of the company's clients.
HCLTech said it is continuing to investigate the matter and will disclose any material findings, if any, arising from the review.
"The company considers cyber security as its top priority and remains committed to protecting the information entrusted to it," it said.
The disclosure comes after peer Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) issued a similar clarification following threat-intelligence alerts that alleged possible exposure of certain employee information.
On Monday, TCS told stock exchanges that it found no credible evidence of a breach of its systems or customer environments after investigating the claims.
The information referenced in the alerts appeared to be more than four years old and was limited to basic employee information, according to TCS. The company had also said there was no indication that customer data, customer systems or TCS operational systems had been impacted.
In its filing, TCS noted that the alleged attacker claimed to have used password spraying and multi-factor authentication (MFA) fatigue as attack vectors.
Shares of HCLTech were trading higher at Rs 1,371 apiece on the BSE.
— IANS
Reader Comments
This "initial investigation" language is a bit concerning. Why not wait until the investigation is complete before making public statements? But I understand the pressure to reassure investors. TCS saying the same thing last week makes me wonder if these are coordinated attacks on Indian IT companies.
Indian IT sector is the backbone of our economy, and these hacker groups know it. At least HCLTech and TCS are being proactive about disclosures rather than hiding issues. But I genuinely hope they're not complacent just because the data looks "limited and dated." Better safe than sorry!
Every IT company says "no evidence of breach" until proven otherwise. As an ex-employee of a similar firm, I can tell you these things are more common than people think. Hope they're not just doing damage control for the stock market. The share price going up shows investors are buying the story though.
It's good that both HCLTech and TCS are following proper procedures with stock exchange filings. These things were not taken seriously a decade ago. Now with global data protection laws, our companies are learning to be more accountable. Still, employees whose data may be exposed deserve more clarity. 🙏
The timing is interesting - TCS first, now HCLTech. Someone is targeting Indian IT majors. Our digital infrastructure is improving but we still need stronger cybersecurity frameworks. Hope the government is keeping an eye on these things and helping these companies with intelligence sharing.
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