The self-described “gay furry hackers” of SiegedSec are back: this time boasting they’ve broken into America’s biggest nuclear power lab’s IT environment and stolen records on thousands of employees. Some of that data has already been leaked, it appears.
SiegedSec, which also claimed to have breached NATO’s IT security on two occasions this year, said it has now hit Idaho National laboratory (INL), which is run by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. Employee Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and bank account data are among the information said to have been pinched.
The lab has at least acknowledged it suffered a cyberattack.
“On Monday, November 20, Idaho National Laboratory determined that it was the target of a cybersecurity data breach in a federally approved vendor system outside the lab that supports INL cloud Human Resources services,” spokesperson Lori McNamara told The Register today. “INL has taken immediate action to protect employee data.”
The boffinry nerve-center has called in the cops and promised to emit more information as the situation evolves.
East Idaho News reported it was able to confirm the authenticity of the leaked information with several INL employees, which SiegedSec earlier posted to its Telegram channel.
The self-styled furry hackers meanwhile have offered to remove the staff records if the lab performs experiments that at best could be described as highly irregular.
“We’re willing to make a deal with INL. If they research creating IRL catgirls we will take down this post,” the group said. The creation of real cat-human female hybrids is a frequently posted meme in certain corners of the internet, but it’s not the laboratory’s specialty.
According to the hacktivists, the invaders gained access to “hundreds of thousands of user, employee and citizen data,” among it full names, dates of birth, email addresses, social security numbers, employment info and “lots lots more!”
INL employs more than 6,100 people in and around Idaho Falls at its massive 890-square mile site, which houses the densest concentration of nuclear reactors in the world. The 70-year-old facility has been instrumental in the development of nuclear power, was the home of the first nuclear generator to provide a usable amount of electricity, and developed the first nuclear propulsion system for US Navy submarines.
The lab has built and operated 52 nuclear reactors over its life, and continues to research advanced nuclear energy concepts. In addition to nuclear energy research, INL also works on alternative energy solutions, such as improving electric vehicle batteries, plus protecting the power grid, and designing small modular reactors.
It’s unclear what motivated SiegedSec’s attack on INL. In its previous network penetration of NATO the group attributed its actions to the military org’s “attacks on human rights,” adding that it’s also “fun to leak documents.” ®