Hacker claims breach of Philipine Department of Foreign Affairs, sells data
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The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila, Philippines, is investigating reports of a potential data breach that allegedly involves the sale of sensitive contact information from the agency. The incident was reported by cybersecurity watchdog Deep Web Konek, which noted that a hacker named "Chengyi" is selling a database containing email data for 1000 USDT (Tether), a cryptocurrency.
The hacker's post on a forum included samples of stolen data in plain text ".eml" files. These files reportedly contain correspondences from several DFA offices, including:
- The Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs (ASPAC)
- The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Bangkok, Kingdom of Thailand
- The DFA-Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office (DFA-MOAO)
The cybersecurity group noted that the hacker claims the database can be updated with new information, suggesting ongoing access to the DFA's email correspondences. The data in question appears to be from 2022, and government officials note that the breach might be fabricated.
Despite this, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has communicated with the DFA regarding the issue. DFA confirmed that the department is conducting its own investigation into the reports. A
No definitive conclusion has been reached about the breach, and further details have not been disclosed by the DFA.
