August 29, 2022
NATO is investigating a data leak related to the theft of classified military documents from MBDA Missile Systems. The pan-European company claimed that information stolen by attackers had been hacked from a compromised external hard drive.
“We are assessing claims relating to data allegedly stolen from MBDA. We have no indication that any network has been breached,” a NATO spokesperson said.
The attackers advertised the stolen data which they claim to include “classified information about employees of companies that took part in the development of closed military projects,” as well as “design documentation, drawings, presentations, video and photo material, contractual agreements and correspondence with other companies.”
The stolen data offered for sale includes 80 GB of data for 15 Bitcoins and a free 50 MB selection of data, including documents labeled “NATO CONFIDENTIAL,” “NATO RESTRICTED” and “Unclassified Controlled Information.” The criminals also emailed additional documents, including two labeled “NATO SECRETS.”
Based on NATO classification, NATO CONFIDENTIAL means that unauthorized disclosure would harm NATO’s interests. NATO restricted means that unauthorized disclosure would be disadvantageous to NATO’s interests. Unclassified information means a U.S. security label for information produced by or held by the government.
The sources for this piece include an article in BBC.
