Telefónica says it has suffered a system breach and internal data has been leaked online
- Hackers recently claimed to have hacked Telefónica and stolen sensitive information
- The company confirmed the breach and said it was investigating
- The crooks broke into an internal ticket system
Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica has confirmed it has been the victim of a cyber attack and says it is currently investigating its extent and potential damage.
The news comes after cybercriminals posted a new thread on a dark web forum containing a Jira database allegedly owned by the company. One of the attackers spoke BleepingComputer and said the “internal ticketing system” is an internal Jira development and ticketing server that Telefónica uses to report and resolve internal issues.
The miscreants used compromised employee accounts to steal 2.3 GB of documents, tickets and other information.
The Hellcat connection
Apparently the company was hacked by four cybercriminals, three of which are part of the Hellcat Ransomware operation. This group emerged in late 2024 and quickly made a name for itself after targeting Schneider Electric and stealing more than 40 GB of information.
In a peculiar move, Hellcat demanded a ransom of $125,000, payable in “baguettes,” a term they later clarified as referring to the cryptocurrency Monero, likely using the term “baguettes” to attract media attention.
Telefónica has now confirmed the breach and it is significant BleepingComputer it is currently investigating the matter.
“We have become aware of an unauthorized access to an internal ticketing system we use at Telefónica,” the company told the publication. “We are currently investigating the extent of the incident and have taken the necessary steps to block unauthorized access to the system.”
Telefónica is a leading Spanish telecommunications company with a global presence, serving approximately 392 million customers in Europe and Latin America. It operates in countries such as Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil and several others in Latin America. In the first half of 2024, Telefónica reported revenues of $22.03 billion, with a net profit of $1.06 billion, reflecting an increase of 28.9% compared to the same period of the previous year.
The company has a strong market presence, with mobile market shares ranging from 18.2% in Mexico to almost 54% in Venezuela as of 2023.
Via BleepingComputer