Cybersecurity firm F5 anticipates revenue hit after attack
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F5 warned shareholders Monday that it expects its revenue growth to slow over the next two quarters as many of its customers pause or slow down their buying decisions while responding to a recent major cyberattack.
Why it matters: The comments are the first from F5 about how much the nation-state attack — which was disclosed about two weeks ago — is likely going to impact the company's bottom line.
Driving the news: F5 CEO François Locoh-Donou said during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call that the company is increasing its internal cybersecurity investments as it responds to the highly sophisticated hack.
- "We are disappointed that this has happened and very aware as a team and as a company of the burden that this has placed in our customers who have had to work long hours to upgrade" affected products, Locoh-Donou told investors on the call.
Catch up quick: Bloomberg reported the attackers are likely linked to the Chinese government and have been lurking in the company's systems since 2023.
Zoom in: So far, F5 has identified and notified an unspecified number of customers who have had their data stolen as a result of the hacks, Locoh-Donou said.
- The company has also worked with thousands of customers in recent weeks to deploy security fixes with minimal operational disruptions, he added.
- F5 will enhance its bug bounty program and is working with outside firms to review the security of its code for vulnerabilities, he said.
- The company has also transitioned Michael Montoya, the company's security chief, to a new role as its chief technology operations officer to help further embed security into every aspect of the company's operations.
Yes, but: Locoh-Donou told shareholders that most affected customers have said their stolen data was not sensitive and "they're not concerned about it."
Threat level: Locoh-Donou said the company is "acutely aware" that nation-state hackers have been increasingly targeting networking security firms like F5 in recent years.
- "We are committed to learning from this incident, sharing our insights with our peers and driving collaborative innovation to collectively strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure across the industry," he said.
