A hacker recently claimed that the FBI’s critical infrastructure portal had been subjected to hacking. Details revealed confirm that the hacker reportedly posed as a top executive of a financial firm. Pretending to be the CEO, the hacker gained access to InfraGard, an FBI-powered outreach program. The InfraGard database consisted of more than 80,000 members. The attack is significant as the database includes sensitive data on cybersecurity breaches and national security. In addition, the database has similar information about private sector actors and public officials who are part of the U.S. infrastructure.
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The entire incident of the hack was made public by Brian Kerbs, an independent security journalist. Unfortunately, the FBI was not available for comments. However, Kerbs informs that the FBI says the agency is aware of the incident and is analyzing the matter deeply. Also, the agency is yet to explain how the hacker could obtain the membership, which was approved in December. The hacker could use an email to receive access with a one-time code per the available information. Once inside, a software script only was needed to obtain access to information.
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The InfraGard membership is associated with critical data on Who’s Who. The data has information on IT professionals, business leaders, state government, and law officers, as these are associated with transportation, the electrical grid, nuclear reactors, pipelines, defense, water plants, and many others. In addition, the information available includes affiliations, names, and contact information for thousands of Infragard users. The theft was first reported early this week. However, no social security numbers were subject to hacking.