Hacker threatens to sell banking data of millions of subscribers

Just a few weeks after SFR was the victim of a cyberattack leading to the theft of the sensitive data of thousands of customers, it is the turn of another French telephone operator to see its security compromised. This revelation was made on X by the ethical hacker SaxX, reports Presse-Citron. According to him, the cybercriminal behind the attack would seek to sell the personal information of millions of customers subscribed to Free on the dark Web.

Banking data

In detail, the cybercriminal would offer a first file of more than 43 gigabytes which would include the names, first names, postal addresses, telephone numbers, emails and even the Freebox identifiers of the customers.

The hacker also claims to have gotten hold of the banking details (IBAN) of more than 5.11 million subscribers. These would be contained in a second file. Although no price has yet been announced, the criminal has announced that he wants to sell these files via an escrow agreement, a method involving a trusted third party from the dark Web to guarantee that the transaction takes place without a hitch.

Change access codes

According to ethical hacker SaxX, it is difficult to know whether this is a bluff intended to put pressure on the operator or whether the data was indeed stolen. Some crooks do not hesitate to use artificial intelligence to create false screenshots of data leaks, with the sole aim of obtaining a ransom.

If in doubt, Free customers are recommended to change their access codes, use a password manager and activate two-factor authentication. If they are victims of phishing, they will also have to be vigilant against any suspicious links received by email or SMS. Finally, it is advisable in this situation to frequently check your bank accounts in order to quickly detect an unusual transaction. For the moment, Free did not wish to comment on this matter.