Cyber criminals assert another major data heist from Orange Romania
Orange telecommunications company in Romania faces a potential data breach from the Babuk cybercrime network for the second time within a month. On March 17, the network claimed to have stolen vast amounts of data from Orange Romania, threatening to make some of it public.
In February, a security breach impacted various institutions, authorities, businesses, and individuals in Romania, according to the National Cybersecurity Directorate (DNSC). The hack, attributed to a member of the HellCat ransomware group, allegedly resulted in the theft of 6.5 GB of data.
The March 17 attack appears more significant, according to statements made by the hackers to Profit.ro. They claim to have stolen "all information related to orange.com and orange.ro in Romania," promising to publish 1TB of data if the company does not wish to negotiate. The hackers allegedly took 4.5TB of "highly detailed" data, including emails, customer records, internal documents, financial transactions, and personal information.
Representatives of Orange Romania told Profit.ro that they had not received any contact from potential attackers. The company stated that they had analyzed samples of the published files, but had not received any negotiation requests regarding a possible cybersecurity incident. The company is continuing to monitor the situation alongside Orange Group and the National Cybersecurity Directorate.
Babuk is a ransomware group, targeting large companies, and first appeared in 2020. Researchers from SentinelOne have linked it to another cybercriminal organization with ties to Russia and Evil Corp. The group was inactive for almost a year before announcing its return in January. Since then, it has claimed responsibility for around 60 attacks.
Orange operates in 26 countries and serves 287 million customers. In Romania, it is the largest telecommunications player, with nearly 10 million customers.
Data breaches typically unfold in several stages: incident detection, initial response, investigation, data assessment, and public disclosure. During an investigation, the affected organization assesses the type and amount of impacted data. Data breaches can result in the exfiltration of various types of sensitive information, including personally identifiable information, financial data, and sensitive business data.
Source: Romania Insider, Profit.ro)
- Amidst concerns about the Babuk cybercrime network's latest attack, it's crucial for Orange Romania, as the country's largest telecommunications player, to prioritize cybersecurity measures to safeguard sensitive customer and business data, including personally identifiable information, financial transactions, and internal documents.
- In the realm of general-news and crime-and-justice, the escalating cybersecurity threats highlighted by the Babuk network underscore the need for ongoing collaboration between telecommunications companies, authorities, and technology experts to address these significant technological challenges.
