Government Officials ‘Extremely’ Hot Targets

Nick Tausek is lead security automation architect at Swimlane. He said although no hacking group has yet claimed the attack, notorious threat actor IntelBroker is selling the stolen information on a hacking forum.

“It goes without saying that government officials are extremely hot targets for cybercriminals given their status, power and the level of chaos that can ensue when these officials’ personal information is released to the public,” he said. “IntelBroker is already requesting payment in the form of cryptocurrency in exchange for the stolen information, so it is likely that this breach could turn into a ransom situation, with the government facing great pressure to resolve the situation given the level of confidentiality that comes along with the officials targeted. In the event that this does become a ransom situation, however, the federal government should abide by its own advice and not pay the ransom. After all, paying the ransom does nothing to ensure that the data is not still sold, or utilized as leverage in a multiple-extortion campaign.”