FireEye, frequently the initial point of contact for organizations experiencing cyberattacks, has now disclosed that it, too, has been compromised by hackers. The company characterizes the perpetrator as a “sophisticated threat actor,” strongly suggesting the involvement of a nation-state.

A blog post from the company’s chief executive, Kevin Mandia, confirmed the security breach, stating that the state-sponsored hackers possess “top-tier offensive capabilities.” However, Mandia refrained from assigning blame or identifying the government responsible for the attack.

Mandia, who also established Mandiant – the incident response company acquired by FireEye in 2014 – explained that the attackers employed a “novel combination of techniques” previously unobserved by the company or its collaborators. This allowed them to acquire hacking tools commonly utilized by red teams, groups authorized to conduct offensive hacking simulations against clients to identify security weaknesses before malicious actors can exploit them.

“These tools replicate the actions of numerous cyberthreat groups and are crucial for FireEye to deliver vital security diagnostic services to our clientele,” Mandia stated. “Importantly, none of the tools incorporate zero-day exploits. In line with our commitment to community protection, we are proactively publishing methods for detecting the use of our compromised red team tools.”

However, the theft of these tools could potentially simplify the process for hackers to execute attacks against their targets.

A similar incident occurred three years prior, when hackers infiltrated the National Security Agency and stole offensive hacking tools used for intelligence gathering on suspected foreign terrorists. The subsequent publication of that exploit led to the widespread infection of thousands of computers with the WannaCry ransomware, resulting in millions of dollars in damages.

Mandia indicated that FireEye has created numerous defenses to mitigate the potential impact of these tools should the hackers choose to deploy them, but currently, there is no evidence suggesting the tools have been misused.

While the hackers’ motivations remain unclear, Mandia noted that they appeared to be focused on obtaining information pertaining to the company’s government clients.

The precise timing of the breach and the method by which FireEye became aware of the incident are currently unspecified. A FireEye spokesperson declined to provide further comment beyond the published blog post when contacted by TechCrunch.

FireEye, with a valuation of approximately $3.5 billion, experienced a stock decline of over 7% during after-hours trading. The company has established a strong reputation as a leading, well-funded cybersecurity firm, frequently engaged to investigate the causes and scope of security breaches.

FireEye has reported the incident to the FBI and has informed industry partners, including Microsoft, about the breach. Microsoft has stated its support in assisting with FireEye’s investigation.

“This situation underscores the necessity for collaboration within the security sector to defend against and respond to threats from well-resourced adversaries employing innovative and complex attack methods,” said Jeff Jones of Microsoft. “We applaud FireEye for its transparency and cooperation, enabling us to collectively enhance our preparedness.”