When Hackers Get Hacked
World’s Leading Hacking Company Falls Victim to Cyber Security Attack
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When Hackers Get Hacked
Cyber security has been as pressing an issue today as it was a decade ago. Companies invest thousands every year in anti-malware and security systems to protect their websites, servers, and applications. From the personal computer user to the largest corporation, everyone takes adequate steps to prevent identity theft, snooping, hacking, and all kinds of cyber attacks. Despite all these systems and the continuous effort, cyber attacks do take place. In a recent case of this kind, it has been a bizarre incident. When Cellebrite, a leading smartphone hacking company, was itself that target of a hacking attack you can only imagine how safe you are when using the web. When Hacker Get Hacked
Who is Cellebrite?
Cellebrite is an Israeli company that developed the UFED Touch2 device for extracting smartphone data. The FBI has sought its help in the past in extracting data in a case. Governments in different countries are claimed to be this company’s clients. This also includes the governments of UAE, Turkey and Russia. The UFED Touch2 can extract data from most mobile phones. The type of data can include emails, messages, and call logs to name a few.
How the Attack Happened?
In an unexpected attack, the company’s data was accessed and revealed to the world by a hacker. The hacker has released over 900 GB of Cellebrite’s data which also includes the list and details of the governments which are clients to this company. This data is from Cellebrite’s old domain, “my.cellebrite” and belongs to users who had not yet migrated to the company’s new domain. The information revealed includes basic contact details and passwords. This domain allowed its users to set alerts for updates. The kind of information includes technical data about company products, customer information, and databases.
In its literal form, this was the ironic example of “hackers getting hacked.” However, the company has claimed that the data breach doesn’t put its customers at any risk. It is currently investigating to find out how vast the breach was and whether other aspects of its business have been attacked or not. Meanwhile its customers have been advised to change their passwords. The hacker has revealed that they have also traded access to the company’s systems to others.
Earlier Attacks
This is not the first time or a rare occasion that such a company has been the victim of cyber attack. A few years ago Gamma International was attacked by a hacker called PhineasFisher which resulted in revealing over 40GB of its data. Gamma is engaged in the business of making intrusion software for accessing people’s webcams and emails. The same hacker then carried out an attack on Hacking Team, an Italian firm. It released the company’s documents and emails. In Cellebrite’s case, the hacker has not identified themselves.
With such cyber attacks taking place on ethical hacking companies themselves, the level of cyber security of the ordinary companies and folks is not difficult to imagine. You can ask yourself a simple question – are you doing enough to protect yourself from such attacks?
