The National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States, responsible for overseeing national security and defense matters, has recently made headlines due to a reported cyber attack resulting in a significant data breach. Approximately 1.4GB of data, including classified information purportedly sourced from defense databases, has been compromised and is now available for sale on an online forum.
The leaked data comprises sensitive details such as full names, email addresses, personal phone numbers, and office contacts of individuals working within government, military, and the Pentagon. The breach was attributed to a cyber attack targeting Acuity Inc., a technology consulting firm based in Virginia known for its work with U.S. government agencies on cybersecurity, data analytics, and operational support.
The individual responsible for the data leak, identified as ‘Gostingr’, claimed that the information was obtained during the attack on Acuity Inc. The availability of such information on public forums poses significant risks, including potential social engineering attacks like phishing and identity theft.
Coinciding with this incident, another notable data breach involving Twitter user data has emerged online. This breach reportedly exposed a dataset of approximately 9.86GB, encompassing over 200 million user records that include account profiles, names, email addresses, and in some cases, contact numbers. The dataset was made available for sale on a darknet forum by a user known as ‘Michupa’.
Both incidents are currently under investigation by Twitter and the NSA to determine the extent and veracity of the breaches. Such compromised data is highly sought after on the dark web, fetching prices ranging from $100 to $900 per dataset depending on the sensitivity and demand for the information online.
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