SiegedSec’s self-proclaimed “gay, furry hackers” are back: This time they’re bragging about breaking into the computer systems of America’s largest nuclear power laboratory and stealing data from thousands of employees. Some of this data has apparently already been leaked.
SiegedSec, which also claimed to have breached NATO’s IT security twice this year, said it has now hit the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), operated by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. The information that was allegedly stolen included employees’ Social Security numbers, address and bank account information.
The lab has at least acknowledged that its HR systems suffered a cyberattack.
“On Monday, November 20, Idaho National Laboratory determined that it was the target of a cybersecurity data breach in a government-approved vendor system outside the laboratory that supports INL cloud human resources services,” spokesperson Lori McNamara told The today Register.
“INL took immediate action to protect employee data.”
The Boffinry Nervous Center has called police and promised to release more information as the situation develops.
East Idaho News reported that it was able to confirm with several INL employees the authenticity of the leaked information that SiegedSec previously posted on its Telegram channel.
The self-proclaimed furry hackers have since offered to remove personnel files if the lab conducts experiments that could be described as highly irregular at best.
“We are ready to do a deal with INL. If they are looking to create IRL catgirls, we will remove this post,” the group said. Creating real cat-human-female hybrids is a commonly posted meme on certain parts of the internet, but it’s not the lab’s specialty.
According to the hacktivists, the intruders gained access to “hundreds of thousands of user, employee and citizen data,” including full names, dates of birth, email addresses, Social Security numbers, employment information and “much, much 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 was instrumental in the development of nuclear energy, housing the first nuclear generator to produce usable amounts of electricity and developing the first nuclear propulsion system for U.S. Navy submarines.
The laboratory has built and operated 52 nuclear reactors over its lifetime and continues to explore advanced nuclear energy concepts. In addition to nuclear energy research, INL also works on alternative energy solutions, such as improving electric vehicle batteries, protecting the power grid and developing small modular reactors.
It is unclear what motivated SiegedSec’s attack on INL. In its previous network penetration into NATO, the group attributed its actions to the military organization’s “attacks on human rights,” adding that it also “has fun leaking documents.” ®