SaaS Service GoToMyPC Hacked

GoToMyPC, a remote access software provider that lets users connect to their desktop from a different location, has become the latest victim of a cyberattack.

In a statement, the company said it was forcing all of its users to change their passwords for stronger defense against an increasing number of attacks that were targeting its users who reused their passwords on multiple websites.

“Unfortunately, the GoToMyPC service has been targeted by a very sophisticated password attack,” the company’s blog post read. “To protect you, the security team recommended that we reset all customer passwords immediately. Effective immediately, you will be required to reset your GoToMyPC password before you can login again. To reset your password, please use your regular GoToMyPC login link.”

The company jumped into taking action as soon as details on the attack came forth, said John Bennett, product line director at Citrix, the parent company of the software product. Calling previous reports bogus, Bennett said there was no reason to believe that the attack compromised its platform.

The Fort Lauderdale-based company also assured that its other technical troubleshooting tool GoToAssist and its business tool, GoToMeeting — both of which offer a similar remote access solution — weren’t compromised.

“Citrix can confirm the recent incident was a password re-use attack, where attackers used usernames and passwords leaked from other websites to access the accounts of GoToMyPC users,” Bennett told Krebs on Security. “At this time, the response includes a mandatory password reset for all GoToMyPC users. Citrix encourages customers to visit the GoToMyPC status page to learn about enabling two-step verification and to use strong passwords in order to keep accounts as safe as possible.”

The cyberattacker most likely utilized passwords acquired from attacks on other social media platforms, including LinkedIn and Tumblr, and used them to break into Citrix’s network, cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs pointed out.