Security News > 2021 > July > US Gov Warning: VPN, Network Perimeter Product Flaws Under Constant Attack
The U.S. government and its allies are pleading with defenders to pay attention to gaping holes in perimeter-type devices, warning that advanced threat actors are feasting on known security defects in VPN appliances, network product gateways and enterprise cloud applications.
In a joint advisory published Wednesday, cybersecurity response agencies from the U.S., the U.K., and Australia called special attention to flaws in network perimeter tech from Citrix, Fortinet, Pulse, F5 Networks and MobileIron.
The agencies listed 30 distinct security vulnerabilities that have been "Routinely exploited" over the last two years to plant malware on public and private sector organizations around the world.
In 2021, four of the most targeted vulnerabilities affected remote work, VPNs, or cloud-based technologies.
"Many VPN gateway devices remained unpatched during 2020. The rapid shift and increased use of remote work options, such as virtual private networks and cloud-based environments, likely placed additional burden on cyber defenders struggling to maintain and keep pace with routine software patching," the agencies said.
In the joint advisory, the agencies said public and private organizations worldwide should assume their networks are already compromised if these vulnerabilities haven't yet been addressed.