A hacked Indian ministry resulted in a leaked database

One of our iZOOlogic researchers has spotted a leaked database from a hacked Indian ministry on a dark web forum.

On March 6, 2024, a threat actor under the alias “threatbear” claimed that its posting had data that directly affected the integrity of the ministry’s servers since it acquired a substantial database laden with sensitive information.

The leaked database contains a trove of personal information, compiled dry data, and a repository of numerous individuals. Among the samples of the stolen data were phone numbers, emails, and passwords.

These credentials alone cause severe implications to potentially impacted parties as they could be susceptible to more exploitation, such as identity theft and phishing attacks. Yet, the breach went deeper after the seller revealed additional details such as names, dates of birth, and even the names of individuals’ parents.

 

The hacked Indian ministry has resulted in the exposure of critical information.

 

To lend credibility to the authenticity of the stolen data from the hacked Indian ministry, threatbear went further by offering glimpses into the appearance and financial status of those affected.

The hacker included profile photos, bank-proof images, and card ID photos in the offered database to increase the legitimacy of its claims and leave no doubt among the speculations.

The implications of this dark web posting affect cybersecurity and personal lives. Our researchers are working to determine the asking price the seller wants in exchange for the database since the attacker has yet to disclose such details.

However, the primary question about this incident is how the attackers infiltrated the government ministry. The seller claims that they have directly sourced the database from the Indian government ministry’s servers, raising troubling questions about the integrity and safety of the cybersecurity measures within the national institutions.

Authorities will surely condemn the actions of threatbear, prompting them to pursue all available avenues to bring the perpetrator to justice. Still, these measures will be challenging for the government since the posting caught everyone by surprise.

As of now, potentially affected parties should be wary of unwanted communications as the details included in the leak could breed other malicious operations like scams, vishing, and other fraudulent activities.

Lastly, our researchers will continue to observe this event so we can provide further details about this issue in the coming weeks.