{"id":60539,"date":"2026-04-24T14:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/governments-on-high-alert-after-cisa-snuffs-out-firestarter-backdoor-on-fed-network\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T14:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:46:07","slug":"governments-on-high-alert-after-cisa-snuffs-out-firestarter-backdoor-on-fed-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/governments-on-high-alert-after-cisa-snuffs-out-firestarter-backdoor-on-fed-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Governments on high alert after CISA snuffs out Firestarter backdoor on fed network"},"content":{"rendered":"

A US federal agency was successfully targeted by a previously unknown backdoor malware called Firestarter, according to CISA cybersnoops and their UK counterparts \u2013 neither of which disclosed the agency’s name.<\/p>\n

Federal\u202fCivilian\u202fExecutive\u202fBranch\u202f(FCEB)\u202fagencies include NASA; Homeland Security itself (cyberworkers at CISA are part of an operational unit in Homeland Security); the FBI; the DoJ; the IRS; the Department of Veteran Affairs; the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and more.<\/p>\n

Described as a backdoor with remote access capabilities, Firestarter was named after Cisco Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD), the two products the malware targeted.<\/p>\n