Cyber Incident Victim: Cyanweb Solutions
Date:
Jun 2018
Location:
Australia
Summary
A criminal hacking group infiltrated a server belonging to Cyanweb Solutions, a digital marketing and web services provider, resulting in near-total destruction of customer data and all available backup information. The attack compromised the company's hosted client websites and eliminated recovery options due to the absence of offsite backups, impacting approximately 500 clients who relied on their services for web hosting and online operations.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 3 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On or around June 27, 2018, Perth-based digital marketing and web services provider Cyanweb Solutions suffered a destructive cyberattack described as a "criminal hacking incident." A professional hacking group infiltrated one of the company's servers, resulting in near-total data destruction. The attackers compromised and destroyed all customer data stored on the affected server, including all available backup data maintained by the company. Cyanweb Solutions, which employed three staff members and provided web design, hosting, online marketing, and search engine optimization services to approximately 500 clients, did not maintain offsite backups of the destroyed information. The incident was characterized by external reporting as a "total destruction breach" due to the comprehensive loss of primary data and backup resources.
Cyanweb Solutions publicly disclosed the incident through an advisory posted on its website, attributing the attack to a coordinated effort by professional hackers. The company confirmed that the breach permanently eradicated both active customer website data and all backup copies stored on the compromised infrastructure. This complete data loss severely impacted business operations and client services, as the organization lacked alternative recovery mechanisms. The destruction of backups eliminated potential restoration options for customer websites and associated digital assets hosted by Cyanweb Solutions. No details regarding detection methods, containment procedures, or forensic findings were disclosed in the available public advisory. The incident's consequences centered on irreversible data eradication affecting all clients, with no evidence suggesting secondary impacts such as data theft or further system compromise beyond the destructive server infiltration.