- InfraGard’s database containing the contact details of more than 80,000 high-profile private sector people has been hacked.
- InfraGard is a program run by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to build cyber and physical threat information-sharing partnerships with the private sector.
- A hacker revealed that they gained access to the InfraGard network by applying for a new account, using personal details.
The FBI’s US critical infrastructure intelligence platform, InfraGard has been hacked and its member database that keeps the details of more than 80,000 high-profiles is accessible to cyber criminals. InfraGard is a portal run by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The portal is designed to build cyberthreat information-sharing partnerships with private sector actors and public officials who run U.S. critical infrastructure.
Posed as the CEO
A hacker who allegedly posed as the CEO of a financial institution is behind the crime. The hacker claimed to independent cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs that the criminal has access to the more than 80,000-member database of the platform.
So far FBI has not made any official statement about the incident. However, Krebs reported that the agency confirmed the allegations and it is aware of a false account linked to the InfraGard Portal. The agency told him that there is an investigation going on.
A few updates: The FBI confirms my reporting, says it's aware of a potential false account associated with the InfraGard Portal, that it is actively looking into the matter. “This is an ongoing situation, and we are not able to provide any additional information at this time."
— briankrebs (@briankrebs) December 14, 2022
The hacker posted samples to a popular hacker forum by claiming them to be the database they stole. The hacker was asking for $50,000 for the entire database. According to Kerbs, USDoD (nickname of the hacker on the forum) obtained access by using the personal details of a real CEO from a financial company.
The hacker just applied for a new account. Upon the approval of the application, USDoD then completed the sign-up process using email verification and then ran a Python script from a friend to query the InfraGard API and collect all user data. The data collected has since been confirmed as real.
The FBI’s InfraGard system requires multi-factor authentication by default, but users can choose between receiving a one-time code via SMS or email.