A hacktivist group who describe themselves as ‘gay furry hackers’ broke into the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) nuclear research lab and leaked the names of researchers online.
The leaked data included full names, dates of birth, email addresses and physical addresses and was posted by the hackers on their Telegram channel, with a claim that the group had accessed ‘hundreds of thousands’ of details for users, researchers and citizens.
Although no nuclear research data was leaked, security experts said that it was ‘disconcerting’ that the names of America’s top nuclear researchers had been leaked online.
The lab has been involved in nuclear research since the 1940s (Google Maps)
The Siegedsec group made no demands for money, and security experts at SOCRadar suggest that the hackers are doing their attacks ‘for fun’, suggesting they may be aged 18-25.
The group has previously leaked data from organizations such as NATO and Atlassian, and leaked the data openly online rather than attempting to demand a ransom.
The INL confirmed that it had been the victim of a cyber attack, with spokesperson Lori MacNamara saying that it is confirming the extent of the breach.
McNamara said: ‘Earlier this morning, Idaho National Laboratory determined that it was the target of a cybersecurity data breach, affecting the servers supporting its Oracle HCM system, which supports its Human Resources applications.
‘INL has taken immediate action to protect employee data.
‘INL has been in touch with federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency to investigate the extent of data impacted in this incident.’
The Idaho National Laboratory has been involved with nuclear reactor research since 1949, and organizations have built more than 50 reactors at the site.
The 890-square-mile complex employs up to 5,700 people, and is currently involved in research on new nuclear reactor technology.
SiegedSec are known for vulgar jokes and have maintained a Telegram channel since spring 2022.
The group posted screenshots of tools used in the laboratory (Telegram)
In a Telegram post, the group said: ‘Meow meow, we’ve successfully gained access to Idaho National Laboratory. Mmm, yummy data, we’ve accessed hundreds of thousands of user, employee and citizen data.’
‘We are willing to make a deal with INL if they research creating real-life catgirls we will take down this post.’
The group posted screenshots of internal tools used in the laboratory as proof of the hack.
The group has previously defaced websites and leaked information from several government websites with data leaked from at least 30 different organizations.
The group appears to have links to other hacktivist groups including GhostSec, and appears to attack targets for fun, rather than profit, according to SOCRadar.io.
The Idaho National Laoatory is one of the 17 national labs that comprise the U.S. Department of Energy complex, and is considered critical national infrastructure.
The INL hosts cutting-edge nuclear reactor research (AP)
Security expert Colin Little, a security engineer at Centripetal, told DarkReading: ‘Although media surrounding this event claims that no nuclear secrets, intellectual property or R&D information was accessed or stolen, which is fortunate, it is nonetheless highly disconcerting that the staff generating that intellectual property and participating in the most advanced Nuclear Energy R&D have had their information leaked online.
‘Now those who are politically motivated and would very much like to know the names and addresses of the top Nuclear Energy researchers in the US have that data as well.’
