A notorious ransomware group Ragnar locker has begun leaking sensitive data that it stolen from Belgian police (Zwijndrecht in Antwerp city), one of the biggest breaches of its kind in the country.
Threat actors were able to gain access to the administrative network, The police zone personnel, which is most impacted, has been informed. Due to the secrecy of the investigation, we limit ourselves to this information
Belgian Police Statement
Administrative staff are most impacted by the incident, they’re certainly not the only ones. This is a case of human error, and this is how crime reports and fine notices, but also photographs of child abuse have been leaked. The report suggested that records dating back to 2006 were accessed by the hackers.
It’s unclear how many citizens are affected by the breach, but they include victims, perpetrators, witnesses, and those under surveillance with potentially far-reaching consequences if their identities are uncovered.
GDPR will also come into play if any PII of police officers is leaked and will be taken into consideration by the local privacy watchdog.
Cincinnati State College was added to the leak sites of ransomware groups over the Thanksgiving holiday, continuing a trend of educational institutions being targeted by hackers. The Vice Society ransomware group added the school to its list of victims.
Last week, the school said it is still investigating a cybersecurity incident that occurred in early November and that it is making “progress towards restoring many systems and services.”
Classes have been able to continue online and at all the school’s physical campuses. Email services are now operational but IT systems are taking longer to be restored.
Access to campus internet and classroom computers have been restored, however. The school did not provide a timeline for when services will be fully returned to normal and did not respond to requests for comment.
