Bitcoins have begun to move into the online wallet of hackers who stole a vast trove of information from an Israeli insurance company, leading to fears that the group has begun to sell the data after the firm refused to pay it ransom money, according to Hebrew media reports Monday.
More on the story here:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/hackers-appear-to-begin-selling-data-they-stole-from-insurance-firm/
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It would be premature to attribute this transaction to a potential buyer of Shirbit’s reportedly stolen data. Cyber gangs usually have different wallets in various crypto-currencies that are designed for different purposes. Thus, this transaction may be the result of other reasons unrelated to the allegedly stolen insurance data.
However, the data breach may indeed be exploited by either nation-state attackers and organized crime to seriously harm Israeli citizens for financial and political motives. It would be beneficial to have a clear statement from Shirbit about the scope and scale of the breach, so the victimized customers can urgently take appropriate action to minimize damage if their data eventually ends up on the Dark Web.
It is likewise important to note that the payment of ransom offers no guarantee that the stolen data won’t be sold later. Frequently, many members of the same gang have unlimited access to the same dumps of data, and when leaving to join another gang, for instance, they may put the data on sale in their private capacity, even if the gang honored the promise.