Over 3,000 congressional staffers’ personal information has been leaked across the dark web in a wide-scale cyberattack on the Capitol.
Switzerland-based security firm Proton discovered that 1,800 passwords used by Capitol staffers are available on the dark web.
In an investigation, Proton, along with the United States-based firm Constella Intelligence, revealed that 1 in 5 congressional staffers had personal information exposed on the dark web.
In the report, Proton shared that the leaks made their way to the dark web through several sources, such as adult websites, social media, and dating apps.
In a statement to The Washington Times, Proton stated, “Many of these leaks likely occurred because staffers used their official email addresses to sign up for various services, including high-risk sites such as dating and adult websites, which were later compromised in data breaches.”
Thousands of Capitol Hill staffers’ info spilled across dark web, security firm says https://t.co/dgUmBRu4qU pic.twitter.com/4ykbMXZslm
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) September 24, 2024
Per Newsweek:
Personal information of more than 3,000 congressional staffers has been leaked across the dark web in a wide-ranging cyberattack on the Capitol, according to reports.
Internet security firm Proton found over 1,800 passwords used by staffers in Congress available on the dark web, through an investigation of exposed accounts among U.S. political staffers, according to The Washington Times.
Proton, which is based in Switzerland and worked with U.S.-based firm Constella Intelligence on the investigation, estimated that almost 1 in 5 congressional staffers had personal information available on the dark web. Proton said the leaks came from several sources, including social media, dating apps, and “adult websites.”
In one instance, the report found that a single staffer had 31 passwords exposed online. The full report said that around 3,191 staffers were affected by the leaks overall.
Thousands Of Capitol Hill Staffers’ Info Compromised After Using Gov’t Emails On Dating, Porn Sites https://t.co/5z5jvSHoCu
— IJR (@TheIJR) September 24, 2024
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US Capitol Hit by Massive Dark Web Cyber Attack: Reports
Personal information of more than 3,000 congressional staffers has been leaked across the dark web in a wide-ranging cyberattack on the Capitol, according to reports.
Internet security firm Proton found over 1,800 passwords used by staffers in Congress available on the dark web, through an investigation of exposed accounts among U.S. political staffers, according to The Washington Times.
Proton, which is based in Switzerland and worked with U.S.-based firm Constella Intelligence on the investigation, estimated that almost 1 in 5 congressional staffers had personal information available on the dark web. Proton said the leaks came from several sources, including social media, dating apps, and “adult websites.”
In one instance, the report found that a single staffer had 31 passwords exposed online. The full report said that around 3,191 staffers were affected by the leaks overall.
“Many of these leaks likely occurred because staffers used their official email addresses to sign up for various services, including high-risk sites such as dating and adult websites, which were later compromised in data breaches,” Proton told The Washington Times.
“This situation highlights a critical security lapse, where sensitive work-related emails became entangled with less secure, third-party platforms.”
Eamonn Maguire, Proton’s head of account security, said: “The volume of exposed accounts among U.S. political staffers is alarming, and the potential consequences of compromised accounts could be severe.
“Vigilance and strict security measures are essential to safeguard personal and national security.”
Proton also said that it would publish more findings over the coming weeks in order to ensure the safety and validity of political systems during the election. The company also contacted all the affected congressional staffers and informed them of the leaks.
What Is the Dark Web?
The dark web is a lesser-used section of the internet where less easily-obtainable information is available. It is often used by hackers to source passwords or other personal information to enable cyberattacks.
The attack on the capitol staffers is not the first of its kind this year. In August, several lawsuits were filed against a Florida data center after a huge data breach involving an estimated 2.9 billion Social Security records, which saw massive amounts of personal information leaked to the dark web.
The data, which included personal details of over 100 people, was allegedly stolen by the cybercriminal group USDoD, which used the dark web to put the database up for sale for $3.5 million.
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‘There’s IDs everywhere’: How illegal immigrants erase their identities at the border
One of the things that most shocks visitors to smuggling routes along the U.S.-Mexico border is the proliferation of IDs.
Passports, identity cards and other documents are strewed on the ground, cast aside by illegal immigrants who are erasing their old lives as they slip across the border to try to capitalize on more relaxed immigration policies to gain a foothold in the U.S.
On a recent investigative trip to Jacumba, California, two human trafficking experts watched it happen in real time.
A smuggler, wearing a balaclava to conceal his face, was helping adult illegal immigrants climb a rope ladder over the fence and then handing a child through the bars. The smuggler snapped proof-of-life photos — a way of showing whoever was paying the migrants’ smuggling fees that they had made it into the U.S. — and then the Border Patrol arrived.
“They basically just in front of everybody are smuggling these people through. In 30 seconds, Border Patrol picks up the people, puts them in their truck, which they call the ‘Migrant Uber’ down there,” said Jarrod Sadulski, a human trafficking expert. “They open up the door, the people know to get right in. They know that this is their claim to asylum, and they’re here.”
Mr. Sadulski and Ali Hopper, his coresearcher, said they found the formalization and normalization of illegal border crossings to be shocking.
“It is ridiculous what’s going on down there, and it’s on a daily basis,” he said.
Ms. Hopper added: “It basically is an assembly line.”
In that analogy, the smuggling cartels are running the plant, the migrants are the widgets coming off the line, and the U.S. Border Patrol is somewhere between quality control and FedEx, doing the final processing and delivery.
“Our Border Patrol is their transit. We transfer and transport the products for them — the products being the children, the women, the men, the labor, the sex, the organs,” Ms. Hopper said. “There’s no incentive for them to change what they’re doing because the process works for them.”
The formalization of illegal immigration has helped usher in record numbers of illegal immigrants over the past three years.
Illegal crossings at the southern border fell in recent months. President Biden credits his harsh rhetoric and changes to shift migrant traffic away from the border and to airports, where some unauthorized migrants can enter as long as they schedule their arrivals.
That has reduced some of the pressure on the Border Patrol.
For those still making the crossing, however, things can go very wrong. In Jacumba, the researchers said they saw a van full of women’s underwear.
“That’s where they’re being raped,” Mr. Sadulski said.
The researchers also found discarded documents describing when to resist arrest, which they said were carried by migrants making the crossing.
Cartels run the identity-erasing operation, allowing migrants to whitewash their histories and start new lives unconnected to any past criminal issues or other red flags.
The researchers said cartel operatives are set up near the border, in stash houses or even mobile locations such as minivans, and print out fake documents for the migrants before they cross.
Ms. Hopper said people from heavily scrutinized countries, such as Iran or Afghanistan, may shed their identities multiple times, including when they first arrive in the hemisphere and then again when they reach the U.S. border.
Whatever they cross with is how the Border Patrol enters them into U.S. databases.
“If somebody comes in and says their name is Mickey Mouse, they’re getting entered into the system as Mickey Mouse,” Mr. Sadulski said. “The cartels realize that by creating these false identities, it really facilitates the entrances into the United States a lot smoother.”
Ms. Hopper said that’s a problem for U.S. agencies that have to deal with the migrants later and don’t know who they are.
“It’s a mentality of trash in, trash out,” she said. “They’re getting identities and background information from these migrants, but already when they’re getting the information, it’s already fake.”
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