It’s a veritable avalanche of data that is hitting several large companies. The mysterious “Nam3L3ss”, an Internet user active on cybercrime forums, published sensitive information linked to millions of employees. Among the companies affected: Xerox, Nokia, Bank of America, Amazon and many others. The MOVEit flaw, exploited since May 2023 by the Cl0p ransomware group, is once again the cause.
A fault that makes waves and debates
Clearly, the information revealed includes names, professional email addresses, telephone numbers, identification badges and positions held. Nothing very reassuring. “ This kind of data is a boon for hackers “, explains Zack Ganot, cybersecurity expert at Atlas Privacy. “ With such precise details, it is easy to launch targeted attacks. »
The scale of the problem is impressive: 760,000 files from six companies, including Koch (237,487) and Bank of America (288,297), appear in the leak published this week. But that’s just a tip of the iceberg. For several months, millions of data belonging to 27 companies have been published, including those of giants like Amazon and HP.
Nam3L3ss does not claim to be a hacker, but rather a “data vigilante”. According to its manifesto, the objective would be to alert companies to poor cybersecurity practices. “ Organizations should secure their systems, it’s not up to me », he wrote on a forum.
Its method is simple: it identifies poorly configured databases, analyzes them, removes duplicates, then distributes the collected information. While some may find his approach laudable, the damage is real. Ferhat Dikbiyik, analyst at Black Kite, is categorical: “ This leak illustrates the dangers associated with suppliers and subcontractors. The MOVEit breach had a domino effect, affecting more than 2,700 organizations. »
Amazon, whose 2.8 million records were exposed, confirmed that the leak came from an external service provider. “ Amazon and AWS systems remain secure », Says a spokesperson. But this type of incident shows that the risk does not stop at the company’s door. With the proliferation of subcontractors, vulnerabilities can extend to unsuspected levels.
For Zack Ganot, this leak is a striking example of what should not happen. “ Businesses need to understand that their supply chain is a weak link. If a service provider is compromised, the entire ecosystem is in danger. »
So, what are the risks with this data in the wild? A lot, according to experts. If passwords and banking details are not included in the files, this information can still fuel sophisticated phishing campaigns. And for the employees concerned, vigilance is required: suspicious emails, fraudulent SMS messages or even calls may occur.
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