New Mainframe Data Exfiltration Vulnerabilities Emerge
MainTegrity CEO Al Saurette explains how the integration of mainframes into broader networks makes them susceptible to heists where there's no getting your data back
Imagine sensitive information slipping out of your control—forever. Data exfiltration is not just another cybercrime; it’s the one where recovery is impossible. Once data is stolen, it’s gone, and there’s no way to ensure it can be completely removed from every device or system that accessed it. Cybercriminals can create copies of the stolen data, distribute it and weaponize it to perpetrate further harm. This makes data theft uniquely damaging compared to other forms of cyberattacks.
While all systems are vulnerable, mainframes present a particularly high-value target. Their integration into broader networks has exposed them to sophisticated cyber threats wielded by well-funded adversaries employing advanced tools like AI and ransomware-as-a-service. With mainframes holding vast amounts of sensitive data, even a single breach can have cascading, irreversible consequences.
How Does This Happen?
Mainframes, originally designed as standalone systems, were built to operate within tightly controlled environments. Decades ago, their isolation from external networks served as their strongest security feature. However, the evolution of modern business demands has radically changed this landscape. Today, mainframes are deeply integrated into interconnected ecosystems, including distributed systems, cloud platforms and external APIs.
This shift has created new vulnerabilities in systems once thought to be impenetrable. For example, APIs, widely used to connect mainframes to web applications, partner systems and cloud platforms, can become vulnerable entry points when not properly secured. Many mainframes still rely on legacy software, which was never designed to withstand modern threats such as AI-driven malware or ransomware. Moreover, industries like finance and healthcare, which depend heavily on real-time data exchange, must keep mainframes accessible around the clock. While necessary for operations, this accessibility makes them an appealing target for attackers seeking high-value data.
The unique combination of legacy vulnerabilities, increased connectivity and the critical importance of the data mainframes manage makes them an enticing target for cybercriminals.
Key Risks and Attack Vectors
Understanding the risks and methods attackers use is crucial to defending mainframe environments. Cybercriminals are constantly developing sophisticated strategies to exploit these vulnerabilities, making it imperative for organizations to stay ahead of emerging threats. The following are some of the most significant risks and attack vectors that organizations must address to protect their mainframes:
Insider Threats
Insiders with legitimate access to the mainframe environment pose a significant risk. This includes disgruntled employees or contractors with malicious intent, who may exfiltrate data undetected using their access credentials, even if multi-factor authentication (MFA) is in place.
Malware and AI-Powered Threats
Malware has grown increasingly sophisticated, with modern variants often leveraging advancements like artificial intelligence to evade detection, adapt to defenses and enhance targeting precision. AI-powered malware can learn from its environment, bypass traditional safeguards and optimize its methods of infiltration and escalation. This growing complexity demonstrates malware’s ability to exploit vulnerabilities in interconnected systems, particularly those reliant on legacy infrastructure. Multi-platform malware has also emerged, enabling attackers to target and disrupt interconnected environments that may affect mainframes.
Ransomware-as-a-Service
Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) platforms like LockBit and BlackCat have revolutionized cybercrime, making sophisticated attack tools accessible to a wide range of threat actors. While these tools are often associated with high-volume attacks targeting open systems, complacency around their potential impact on mainframes is misguided. Mainframes, increasingly interconnected and often configured to run Linux, are part of the broader IT ecosystem and can be indirectly targeted through these platforms. With multiple cybercriminal organizations competing in the RaaS market, it may only be a matter of time before mainframes become a direct focus of extortion campaigns.
Supply Chain Attacks
State-sponsored criminal groups have increasingly turned to supply chain attacks due to their ability to infiltrate multiple victim organizations through trusted third-party software or services. By compromising vendors or development processes, attackers can infiltrate multiple victim organizations with a single breach. For instance, the Sunburst attack exploited vulnerabilities in the SolarWinds software update process, enabling widespread access to government and corporate networks.
Mainframes, as part of interconnected infrastructures, are not immune to the risks posed by these attacks. Their integration with external systems makes them susceptible to the cascading impact of compromised supply chains, underscoring the need for stringent vendor risk management and monitoring.
Credential Compromise
Phishing and brute force attacks targeting mainframe user credentials pose a significant threat by exploiting human error and weak password policies. These methods allow attackers to gain unauthorized access, often blending in with legitimate users to avoid detection. Once compromised, mainframe credentials provide access to critical systems and sensitive data, making it significantly harder to flag malicious activity.
The use of stolen credentials makes detecting malicious activity more challenging, as sophisticated attackers can mimic normal behavior to avoid triggering alerts. This capability allows them to bypass traditional defenses and extend their reach within an organization, heightening the risk of data theft, system compromise and prolonged breaches.
Unsecured Interfaces
As mainframes connect to distributed systems and cloud environments, unsecured APIs and interfaces can become entry points for attackers. Poor configuration or weak authentication measures exacerbate these risks. Such vulnerabilities have been a frequent source of zero-day exploits in open systems for years, and mainframes are not uniquely excluded from these risks.
Historically, mainframes have benefited from a perception of security through obscurity or isolation, which has allowed some complacency to take root. However, as mainframes become more interconnected, these assumptions no longer hold, exposing them to the same risks long exploited in other platforms.
Consequences of Data Exfiltration
The fallout from data exfiltration extends far beyond the immediate loss of sensitive information. Organizations often face a cascade of financial, operational, and reputational consequences, each compounding the impact of the breach. The financial burden is significant, with costs often reaching millions of dollars due to forensic investigations, regulatory fines and class-action lawsuits. According to recent studies, these expenses are further amplified by prolonged operational disruptions and the erosion of customer trust.
Data breaches disrupt critical business functions, leading to revenue losses and halted operations. For example, organizations frequently experience system downtime, which can cripple essential services for weeks. In industries like health care or finance, these disruptions can have life-threatening or far-reaching economic impacts. The longer it takes to detect and contain a breach, the higher the cost.
Beyond direct costs, the reputational damage can be equally severe. Customers, partners and stakeholders often lose confidence in an organization’s ability to safeguard their data. This erosion of trust can take years to rebuild, requiring costly public relations campaigns and significant efforts to reassure affected parties.
Perhaps most damaging is the legal fallout. Exposed sensitive data frequently triggers regulatory scrutiny and legal action. Investigations can drag on for months or even years, taxing both legal and technical resources. These costs, often omitted from breach cost calculations, add another layer of financial and operational strain. Organizations also face class-action lawsuits within days of a breach becoming public, resulting in settlements that further stretch financial resources. The long-term reputational harm and loss of customer loyalty compound these impacts, leaving a lasting mark on affected organizations.
Stay tuned for an upcoming TechChannel article detailing measures for combatting data exfiltration, including file integrity monitoring, user behavior analysis, access control, data encryption and vulnerability assessments.