Lessons Learned From the Clorox Breach

In August 2023, Clorox disclosed through SEC filings that it suffered a cyberattack that cost the company $356 million. In addition to significantly impacting Clorox’s ability to process orders and meet consumer demand for its cleaning products, the attack caused unauthorized activity on some of Clorox’s IT systems, which disrupted business operations and led to slower production rates and product availability issues.

Clorox predicted significant financial losses for the fiscal first quarter of 2024, including decreased net sales and share price, order processing delays, and product outages. In its SEC filing, Clorox states, “In FY24, the company expects to incur approximately $50-$60 [million] ($38-$46 after tax) of costs related to the cyberattack.”

In this article, we’ll address the increasing prevalence of cyber threats targeting supply chains and unpack the importance of network segmentation as means to prevent and respond to cyber breaches

The Rise of Supply Chain Cyberattacks

Cyber threats directed at supply chains have surged in prevalence, with as many as 40% of attacks occur through the supply chain. These attacks exploit vulnerabilities within interconnected networks of suppliers, distributors, and partners. Such threats encompass a range of tactics, including social engineering, malware injection, and ransomware attacks.

The disruptions in operations, financial losses, and reputational damage from supply chain cyber-attacks have profound ripple effects across entire industries. As cybercriminals evolve their tactics, vigilance and proactive defense strategies are essential to safeguarding supply chain integrity and resilience in an increasingly interconnected digital landscape.

Companies need to implement robust cybersecurity measures throughout their supply chains—chief among them network segmentation. Network segmentation is one of the most effective ways organizations can address threats. Beyond segmenting their network, companies should also adopt cybersecurity best practices including regular risk assessments, vendor due diligence, and incident response planning.

The Efficacy of Network Segmentation

Despite the numerous cyber defense tactics companies can take to prevent what happened to Clorox, network segmentation consistently proves its worth and efficacy as a foul-proof tactic in containing and limiting the spread of ransomware.

Network segmentation, which involves dividing an organization’s network into isolated segments or zones, creates barriers restricting lateral movement in case of a breach.

By classifying the network, organizations can:

Minimize the blast radius of the attach
Prevent the lateral movement of ransomware within their network
Reduce potential damage
Facilitate easier containment, investigation, and recovery efforts

Managing Network Segmentation for Long-Term Resilience with Tufin

To successfully adopt network segmentation, organizations must hone a proactive and continuous approach to managing network segmentation. This commitment must go beyond the initial implementation phase, encompassing regular assessments, updates, and seamless integration with other critical components of the organizational infrastructure.

Tackle the hurdle of monitoring the effectiveness of your segmentation policy by immediately identifying misconfiguration and compliance violations that jeopardize your security posture. Tufin provides a quick MTTR to mitigate these through automated responses.

Tufin’s Unified Security Policy and bundled IPAM Security Policy App available with SecureTrack+ ensure the network representation’s accuracy and consistency and amplify the overall effectiveness of the cybersecurity posture.

Organizations can meticulously map their critical assets within the network through these solutions. Tufin customers can seamlessly operationalize network segmentation across various network devices, spanning legacy firewalls, next-generation firewalls, SDN, SASE, Cloud and Edge devices—all managed from a centralized console.

For those seeking more consistent and automated processes across their hybrid network, Tufin’s SecureChange+ solutions provide additional benefits. Organizations can promptly address and rectify issues before any alterations occur by proactively detecting potential network changes that could violate segmentation policies.

Conclusion

As ransomware continues to be a persistent and evolving threat in the digital landscape, the recent breach at Clorox serves as a stark reminder of the devastating impacts these attacks can have on companies. Beyond that, the Clorox breach reinforces the importance of proactive cybersecurity strategies—chief among them, network segmentation.

As organizations navigate the evolving landscape of cybersecurity, the consistent application and management of network segmentation policies remain paramount for long-term resilience against ransomware and other malicious threats.

With Tufin’s solutions, organizations can take a proactive stance on cybersecurity to preserve segmentation policies. In turn, they’ll reduce the risk of accidental misconfigurations and fortify their cybersecurity posture against the persistent and evolving threat of ransomware.

To learn more, explore our Network Segmentation Guide or get a personalized demo today.