However, enterprises that didn't have the software auto-updated needed to manually remove it from the impacted systems. From the nearly 2.27 million systems that installed the impacted CCleaner, only 40 systems were infected, and most of the systems that installed the impacted CCleaner got an auto-update from Avast that removed the malicious version - showing one perk of auto-updates. Morphisec notified Avast of suspicious connections from CCleaner, prompting an investigation.Īny time an enterprise is notified of an attack that it didn't internally detect, it is a bit concerning, but not surprising. Given that CCleaner is used so widely, it's a target for a watering hole attack.Ī recent watering hole attack was disclosed in detail by Avast Software, Morphisec and Cisco, and it described how an attacker was able to gain access to Piriform Software Ltd.'s software development environment to add malware to the legitimate CCleaner software - Avast acquired Piriform last summer.

CCleaner software is usually only installed on a few endpoints in an enterprise, but the organization could lose track of the software. Sometimes, the help desk will use tools to investigate an endpoint that may have been infected with malware, and one of those tools is CCleaner. Some software may be managed by the enterprise, some may be used by the help desk to fix systems, and some may be used by employees without the knowledge or approval of the enterprise IT department. One common security recommendation is to know what software or systems your enterprise is using so that you know what needs to be secured. Software and supply chain security are critical parts of an enterprise's information security program.

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