In October 2024, General Dynamics (GD), a prominent name in aerospace and defense, confirmed a data breach impacting employee benefits accounts. The breach, detected on October 10, affected 37 individuals, including two residents of Maine. Attackers accessed sensitive personal data and bank details, with some accounts experiencing unauthorized changes.
The incident originated from a phishing campaign targeting a third-party login portal for Fidelity’s NetBenefits Employee Self Service system. Through a fraudulent ad campaign, attackers redirected employees to a spoofed login page resembling the legitimate portal. Employees who entered their credentials inadvertently provided access to their accounts. The compromised data included:
In some cases, attackers altered direct deposit information in affected accounts. The breach began on October 1, 2024, but was only discovered by General Dynamics on October 10. Once identified, access to the compromised portal was suspended, and affected employees were promptly notified. Written instructions were sent to reset credentials and secure accounts. Forensic experts were engaged to assess the breach, determine its scope, and address vulnerabilities.
Company’s Response and Support
General Dynamics emphasized that the breach was isolated to the third-party login portal and did not compromise its internal systems. In a report to the Maine Attorney General’s Office, the company stated, “Available evidence indicates that the unauthorized access occurred through the third party and not directly through any GD business units.”
To assist affected individuals, General Dynamics is offering two years of free credit monitoring services. Impacted employees were advised to:
For additional support, the company provided resources and contacts to address employee concerns.
Previous Cybersecurity Incidents
This is not the first cybersecurity challenge faced by General Dynamics. In June 2024, its Spanish subsidiary, Santa Barbara Systems, was targeted by a pro-Russian hacker group in a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. While the incident caused temporary website disruption, no sensitive data was compromised.
Earlier, in March 2020, a ransomware attack on Visser Precision, a General Dynamics subcontractor, exposed sensitive data through the DoppelPaymer ransomware group. Although General Dynamics’ internal systems were not directly impacted, the incident highlighted vulnerabilities in supply chain cybersecurity.
These recurring incidents highlight the persistent threats faced by defense companies and underscore the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive data. General Dynamics’ swift response and ongoing vigilance demonstrate its commitment to addressing cybersecurity challenges and safeguarding its employees and systems.
The malware was first discovered by IBM’s security team, where the researchers noted that the threat actors have been preparing for the campaign since December 2022, after buying the malicious domains.
The attacks used scripts that were loaded from the attacker's server to intercept user credentials and one-time passwords (OTPs) by focusing on a particular page structure that is shared by numerous institutions.
The attackers can access the victim's bank account, lock them out by altering security settings, and carry out illicit transactions by obtaining the aforementioned information.
The attack begins when the threat actors infect the victim’s device with the malware. While IBM’s report did not specify the details of this stage, it is more likely that this is done through malvertizing, phishing emails, etc.
The malicious software inserts a new script tag with a source ('src') property pointing to an externally hosted script once the victim visits the malicious websites of the attackers.
On the victim's browser, the malicious obfuscated script is loaded to change the content of webpages, obtain login credentials, and intercept one-time passcodes (OTP).
IBM found this extra step unusual since most malware can perform web injections directly on the web page.
It is also noteworthy to mention that the malicious script uses names like cdnjs[.]com and unpkg[.]com to mimic authentic JavaScript content delivery networks (CDNs) in an attempt to avoid detection. Moreover, the script verifies the existence of particular security products before execution.
Also, the script tends to continuously mend its behaviour to the command and control server’s instructions, sending updates and receiving specific outputs that guide its activity on the victim’s device.
A "mlink" flag set by the server controls its various operational states, which include injecting phone number or OTP token prompts, displaying error warnings, or mimicking page loading as part of its data-stealing tactic.
IBM notes that nine “mlink” variable values can be combined to instruct the script to carry out certain, distinct data exfiltration activities, indicating how a wide range of commands is being supported.
According to IBM, this campaign is still a work in progress, thus the firm has urged online users to use online banking portals and apps with increased caution.