Former IBM executive accuses company of covering up data breaches
8 reported
A former IBM cybersecurity executive has accused the company of being hacked three times by foreign governments and then covering up the breaches, according to a lawsuit unsealed this week. William Barlow, who served as IBM’s vice president of threat intelligence until August 2019, filed the complaint in 2020. Barlow alleged that Chinese hackers breached IBM’s core network between 2013 and 2016, and that the company never disclosed the incidents. He also claimed that two IBM subsidiaries were breached and covered up. The lawsuit states that IBM’s core network was “routinely hacked by foreign state actors” and that government agencies were “never notified.” IBM spokesperson Miki Carver declined to answer specific questions, stating that the Department of Justice declined to intervene and that IBM is confident its actions followed the law. Bloomberg first reported on the lawsuit.
What’s reported
William Barlow, former IBM vice president of threat intelligence, filed a lawsuit in 2020 that was unsealed this week.
Barlow accused IBM of being hacked three times by foreign governments and covering up the breaches.
He alleged Chinese hackers breached IBM’s core network between 2013 and 2016.
Barlow said at least two IBM subsidiaries, Trusteer (acquired 2013) and Truven (acquired 2016), were also breached and covered up.
The complaint states that in March 2017, Five Eyes intelligence officials warned IBM of a breach, prompting an internal investigation.
The investigation concluded that APT 10, a Chinese government-linked group, potentially breached IBM’s network more than 56,000 times between 2013 and 2016.
IBM allegedly could not investigate further because it had not kept logs of network access.
IBM spokesperson Miki Carver said the Department of Justice declined to intervene and that IBM followed the law.
Key figures
William Barlow, former IBM vice president of threat intelligence
Miki Carver, IBM spokesperson
Jason Brown, lawyer representing Barlow
APT 10, Chinese government-linked hacking group
Sources: TechCrunch
