Incidents

Multiple telecomm companies hacked; call and location data of millions of users leaked

According to network scurity specialists, a hacker group has entered the systems of at least a dozen mobile operators around the world and gained the ability to control networks without companies being able to intervene.

Cybercriminals have reportedly been exploiting
this access to steal confidential information for at least the last seven
years, although, according to cybersecurity firm Cyberseason, they could carry
out more dangerous activities, such as disrupt communications on compromised
companies. 

This hacking campaign, known as Operation Soft
Cell, is aimed at telephony service providers in Europe, Asia, Africa and the
Middle East. According to network security specialists, hackers began infecting
multiple companies since 2012, gaining control of their networks and stealing a
huge amount of personal data.

Officials from the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security
(NHS) consider cyberattacks against this kind of
infrastructure to be a national security issue, they have even created their
own center to combat such attacks because, if a hacker group were to succeed
collapsing telephone networks could cause a massive disruption, however,
experts believe that the main interest of threat actors is espionage, not
disruption of services.

Network security specialists discovered that attackers have access to networks of more than twelve mobile phone companies exploiting known vulnerabilities, using malware hidden in Word files, or exploiting exposed servers. After accessing the companies, the hackers deploy malware across all computers on a network and try to access it with brute force attacks.

Based on the attack method, cybersecurity firm
specialists believe hackers have the financial backing of some government,
possibly China. The malware detected in the attacks, the method, in addition to
the location of the attacking servers, are linked to the Chinese hacking group
known as APT10. 

Specialists from the International Institute of
Cyber Security (IICS) say all the companies involved have already received a
security alert, although the mitigation measures that the affected companies
will implement are still unknown. 

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