Maxar Technologies reports data breach

Maxar Technologies, a prominent U.S. space technology and satellite company, is reporting a data breach affecting its employees' personal information.

The company, which operates one of the largest commercial satellite constellations and provides crucial satellite imagery to the U.S. government, detected unauthorized access to its systems initiated from a Hong Kong-based IP address, though it's uncertain whether the attacker was actually located in Hong Kong or using it as a proxy to mask their true location.

The incident occurred on October 4, 2024, and was discovered by Maxar on October 11, 2024. The unauthorized actor maintained access to the systems for approximately one week before detection. After detection, Maxar implemented measures to prevent further unauthorized access to their systems.

Exposed data types:

• Names
• Gender
• Physical addresses
• Social Security numbers
• Business contact information
• Employment status
• Employee numbers
• Job information

The number of affected individuals is not disclosed, but Maxar employs approximately 2,600 people, more than half of which hold U.S. security clearances. The nature of the attack is also not disclosed.

Maxar notified the police and offered both current and former employees a year’s worth of identity theft protection and credit monitoring via IDShield and IDX.