Bitrabo Editorial
Recent reports indicate a significant data breach affecting millions of students in the US. A hacker is asking for a Bitcoin payment to stop the sensitive information from being exposed to the public. This breach appears to be part of a broader attack on a cloud database.
Risk of Student Data Exposure
Two educational institutions in the US were alerted on Tuesday about the hacking of sensitive information. An individual identified as Sp1d3r claimed that data belonging to over 4 million US students is in danger of being leaked publicly.
The hacker alleges that the data was obtained from Los Alamos Public Schools and Edgenuity, an online learning platform. The information appears to have been extracted from Edgenuity and LASchools.net’s Snowflake accounts.
It is important to note that while the hacker’s post mentions Los Angeles Schools, the cited website belongs to Los Alamos Public Schools, a school district in New Mexico.
As reported by Bloomberg, Snowflake, a cloud-based data analytics company, has been targeted by cyber attacks against users without 2-factor authentication. Hackers are demanding payments ranging from $300,000 to $5 million for the stolen data.
Sp1d3r has instructed the victims to pay 30 Bitcoin, equivalent to about $2 million, to prevent the exposure of students’ information. The compromised data includes details of millions of students from kindergarten to 12th grade, as well as their parents.
The stolen information comprises students’ names, addresses, financial data, disciplinary records, grades, GPAs, performance evaluations, medical details, and parents’ online login credentials.
The victims have until June 25 to make the Bitcoin payment. Similarly, the hacker has demanded a 30 Bitcoin ransom from users of the Santander Group Bank for the data of more than 30 million customers in Spain, Chile, and Uruguay.
$27 Million Profited in Bitcoin by Hacker Ringleader
Google’s Madiant security division has attributed the attack on Snowflake’s database to the “UNC5537” hacking group. Investigations suggest that this group, based in Turkey and the US, may have collaborated with another group known as “Scattered Spider” for their attacks.
The cybercriminal organization appears to consist of young adults aged 19 to 22 in the US and the UK, focusing on data theft and extortion. Following the detention of an alleged member in Spain, the group gained attention in the news.
Over the weekend, Murcia Today reported the arrest of a 22-year-old British individual in Palma de Mallorca, suspected to be the leader of Scattered Spider. Spanish authorities aided by the FBI apprehended the suspect as he was preparing to fly to Italy, having arrived in Spain at the end of May.
Law enforcement mentioned that the detained individual made approximately 400 Bitcoin, valued at $27 million, by stealing sensitive data from companies and selling it.
