Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
- Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stated that there is currently “no evidence of any breach” of its IT systems following an extortion claim by a group called Mogilevich.
- Mogilevich claimed to have stolen data and was prepared to sell it, but provided no evidence to support their claims.
In a recent statement, the Irish foreign affairs ministry reassured the public that there is “no evidence” of a cyber breach within their IT systems after a new cyber extortion group, Mogilevich, claimed to have stolen data and was prepared to sell it. The group listed the DFA on their site along with three other victims, but did not provide any evidence to support their claims of breaching these organizations.
The DFA stated that they were notified of a potential cybersecurity incident by Ireland’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and are currently working closely with them to investigate the authenticity of the claim. The ministry emphasized that so far, there is no evidence of any breach of DFA ICT security infrastructure.
Several indicators suggest that the Mogilevich group may not be credible. Their extortion site is amateurishly designed, and they request a $1,000 deposit from potential affiliates, which raises suspicions among professional fraudsters. This type of fraudulent ransomware activity, known as “Phantom Incident Extortion,” has been observed in the cybercrime world before.
While the situation is being monitored closely, the DFA and NCSC are continuing their investigation to ensure the security of the department’s information and will address any issues that may arise from the incident.
