A Russian ransomware gang allegedly infiltrated a technology company responsible for handling top-secret documents from US intelligence agencies, such as the FBI.
The famous Blackcat group, also known as ALPHV, threatens to publish the classified documents if the company Technica does not contact them soon.
Technica is a veteran-owned company providing technology solutions to support the federal government’s mission to defend and protect America.
ALPHV claimed it stole 300 GB of documents that allegedly included Department of Defense contracts and the names, phone numbers and social security numbers of Technica employees. .
The Russian attack comes as an FBI director warned Wednesday that Chinese hackers are preparing to “wreak havoc” in the United States.
Russian cyber gang ALPHV allegedly stole 300 GB of secret and classified US intelligence and FBI documents from Technica Corporation
Cybersecurity analyst and security researcher Dominic Alvieri confirmed that Technica was hacked and posted a screenshot of the ALPHV commit on X with what appears to be a sample of 29 separate documents obtained by the cyber gang.
The motive for the alleged attack is unclear and it is unknown if it is associated with the Kremlin.
Technica’s company works to “support the Federal Government and its mission to support, defend and protect the citizens of the United States,” according to its websitewhich makes the alleged violation even more concerning.
“Incidents like this should not be considered in isolation,” Brett Callow, a threat analyst at cybersecurity company Emsisoft, told the conference. daily point.
“The extracted data can be combined with information obtained in other attacks and from other sources, so leaks may be more important than they seem.”
Dailymail.com has contacted Technica for comment.
Russian ransomware group ALPHV says it will make the top security documents public unless Technica Corp contacts it soon.
Last month, the FBI thought it had shut down ALPHV for good after a fight to seize the dark web leak site and allowed more than 500 victims to restore their systems.
“By taking down the BlackCat ransomware group, the Department of Justice has once again attacked hackers,” saying US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco at the time.
“We will continue to prioritize disruption and put victims at the center of our strategy to dismantle the ecosystem that fuels cybercrime,” he added.
However, just one day later, ALPHV claimed to have “taken down” its FBI website, suggesting an ongoing battle for control of the site.
ALPHV has attacked numerous corporations in recent years, going so far as to hack casinos and shut down their databases, promising to release the systems only once they receive a large sum of money.
ALPHV has become the second most prolific hacker group in the world, having attacked hundreds of computer networks.
When the FBI seized the ALPHV site, it said in its search warrant that the ransomware group had attacked the networks of more than 1,000 victims, including “critical infrastructure entities, medical facilities, school districts, law firms, and financial firms” around the world.
The US Department of Justice saying the amount of overall loss from ALPHV ransomware attacks “is in the hundreds of millions and includes ransom payments, destruction and theft of proprietary data, and costs associated with incident response.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray told the US House Select Committee that the United States is at risk of falling victim to hackers from the Chinese Communist Party. He said hackers will “wreak havoc” and “cause real-world harm” to Americans.
The alleged cyberattack comes as FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that hackers in China are preparing to “wreak havoc” and “cause real-world harm” to Americans.
Wray testified before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and called for action against the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“The cyber attack by the People’s Republic of China goes far beyond prepositioning itself for future conflicts,” he said at the hearing.
“Today, and literally every day, they are actively attacking our economic security, engaging in wholesale theft of our innovation and our personal and corporate data.”
Chinese hackers are allegedly targeting U.S. water treatment plants, electrical infrastructure, and oil and gas pipelines, Wray testified, adding that the PRC can destroy the United States, as long as it decides to attack.
Chinese hackers are working “to find and prepare to destroy or degrade the critical civilian infrastructure that keeps us safe and prosperous,” Wray said.
“And let’s be clear: Cyber ​​threats to our critical infrastructure represent real-world threats to our physical security.”