Cybercriminals under the moniker N4ughtySecTU have once again targeted major credit bureaus TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) and Experian (OTC:EXPGF), threatening to release sensitive data unless a hefty ransom is paid. This latest extortion attempt comes amidst a series of high-profile cyberattacks that have put South African citizens' data security at risk.
On Tuesday, TransUnion received a ransom demand for $30 million, accompanied by the disclosure of private information belonging to journalist Sabelo Skiti as proof of the hack. Although TransUnion has found no evidence of breach or data loss in its South African operations, the company remains on high alert.
Experian, along the same lines, said, "We have investigated reports that Experian data in South Africa has been illegally obtained and have found these claims to be baseless. There is no evidence that our systems or data have been compromised in any way nor the systems or data of any of our clients."
The hackers' demands echo a previous incident last year when they sought $15 million from TransUnion after claiming access to millions of credit records and ID numbers. The Information Regulator has since mandated that TransUnion disclose details of the compromised data publicly across various media in all national languages.
The ongoing vulnerabilities were highlighted when President Cyril Ramaphosa's personal information was revealed as part of data illegally accessed during a government server hack. This breach also implicated other entities such as the Justice Department and Transnet, emphasizing the broader scope of cyber threats faced by government institutions.
In light of these developments, there are calls for regulatory bodies to enforce stricter verification of security measures to prevent further incidents. The repeated nature of these cyberattacks underscores the critical need for robust cybersecurity defenses to safeguard sensitive consumer data against such threats.
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