Belgium defence ministry revealed being attacked using the Log4j flaw

January 25, 2022
Belgium Defence Ministry Cyber Attack Log4j Flaw Apache Server FOSS Europe Vulnerability

The Ministry of Defence in Belgium has encountered a cyberattack after threat actors abused a Log4j flaw. The incident recorded the first event that a NATO country’s defence ministry victimised using the flaw.

According to a report, the cyberattack occurred recently, resulting in the paralysis of the defence ministry’s activities for several days.

A Belgian Ministry of Defence spokesperson said that one of their colleagues discovered an infiltration in their computer network with internet access last week. They immediately applied security and quarantine measures to isolate the infected parts. The MoD representative then confirmed that an abuse of the Log4j flaw caused the attack against them.

Log4j is free and open-source software (FOSS) logging utility disseminated by Apache Foundation and combined with an Apache server that makes it accessible to everyone. The open-source software’s latest version is the 3rd update in less than two weeks after the initial discovery of an actively abused remote code execution flaw. Since then, more vulnerabilities have appeared out of nowhere, prompting quick updates from Log4j’s security team.

Since several cybersecurity agencies are warning everyone regarding future attacks, all sectors, including governments, financial institutions, healthcare, and even home devices, should need an immediate update to counter the current abuse of the Log4j flaw.

 

Belgium is not the only country at risk of being attacked using the Log4j flaw.

 

The United States Government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, or CISA, recently released an emergency directive requiring federal law enforcement agencies to provide immediate solutions to Apache Log4j flaws. CISA gives these agencies up to this month to develop a solution for this latest blunder.

Log4j’s vulnerability profoundly affects all current devices that utilise their software. That is why threat actors are on a rampage these days because they want to make sure that they can take advantage of the full potential given by Log4j’s vulnerability. Everyone is prone to every threat if the vulnerability is unresolved by experts. Therefore, users should apply preventive measures that will help them defend against potential malicious cyberattacks.

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