Former IBM executive sues, alleging cover-up of foreign government hacks

As reported by TechCrunch, a former IBM cybersecurity executive has filed a lawsuit alleging that the company concealed multiple data breaches by foreign governments over the past decade. The lawsuit, unsealed this week but filed in 2020, claims that IBM failed to disclose these security incidents to the public or relevant authorities.

The lawsuit was filed by William Barlow, IBM's former vice president of threat intelligence. He alleges that IBM's core network was breached by Chinese hackers, identified as APT 10, between 2013 and 2016. Barlow claims that IBM also covered up breaches affecting at least two of its subsidiaries. The complaint states that IBM's internal investigation concluded that APT 10 potentially breached the network over 56,000 times, compromising nearly 400 accounts and almost 200 systems across 18 countries.

Barlow further alleges that IBM failed to notify government agencies, including the U.S. government, one of its major clients. IBM has stated that the complaint was filed six years ago, the Department of Justice declined to intervene, and the company is confident its actions followed the law.

Source: TechCrunch