Posted on May 31, 2022 at 2:36 PM

Hackers demand $250,000 Ransom After Stealing Verizon Employee’s Database

Verizon has become the latest victim of a hacking attack, as the full names, phone numbers, corporate ID, and email addresses of some of the employees were exposed. Verizon has also confirmed the hacking incident. However, the company played down the impact of the attack, stating that it does not think the information compromised is sensitive.

The hackers reached out to Motherboard and shared the publication. However, there is no clear information regarding the authenticity of the said data or how up-to-date it is. But it does seem to contain information about both old and new employees.

Some Employees Confirmed Their Phone Number

To verify the contents of the data, Motherboard contacted some of the owners of the phone numbers in the data. Four of the people contacted said their email addresses and phone numbers were correct. They also stated that they are currently employees of Verizon.

Another contact confirmed that they had previously worked for the company. Additionally, several of the contacts had voicemails that matched the corresponding names on the stolen database.

The hackers said they obtained the information after convincing a Verizon employee to give them remote access to their corporate terminal. The hackers said they posed as an internal support employee, and it didn’t take too long to convince the targeted employee.

 “These employees are idiots and will allow you to connect to their PC under the guise that you are from internal support,” the hackers told Motherboard.

The first point of contact is usually through the employee. Once the threat actor gains access via the employee’s computer, they can gain access to the wireless carrier’s internet tool. This allows them to look into several details about the employees working for the company.

Afterward, the threat actor created an additional tool to download the data without giving themselves away.

Hackers Demand $250,000 Ransom Payment

The hacker also revealed that they had contacted Verizon and requested that the company pay a ransom of $250,000 or risk losing the data to the public. Verizon, while confirming the data, stated that it has received a threat from a hacker.

The company stated that the hacker threatened to release the stolen database if the company fails to meet their demand. However, Verizon stated that the threat actors don’t have any sensitive information in their possession that would get anyone too worried. The company added that it doesn’t plan to engage with the hacker any further.

Verizon added that it takes the security of its data very seriously and the company has solid measures in place to protect its people and systems.

Although no credit card information, passwords, or social security numbers was stolen, it could still be risky for present and past employees. Hackers can use the information in several ways. They can be used to carry out phishing scams or impersonate employees.

This is very common in hacking incidences where only the names email address and phone numbers of the victims were taken. Once the data is exposed online, a threat actor can store them for use in the future. In the case of impersonation, the victim may not be aware their details are being used to execute tasks in other places.

The threat actors can decide to use the leaked information to conduct social phishing attacks in the future to gain more critical data or information from the victim. The identity of the hacker or the group they represent is not known.

More Victims Fall Prey To Social Engineering Threats

The hackers can also continue using social engineering for SIM swapping fraud. The hacking techniques have been used over the years. In the past, hackers have manipulated accounts via carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile to have access to social media accounts or steal cryptocurrency.

The latest attack on Verizon is another reminder that several hacking activities occur through the compromise of employee accounts. On that note, security experts have advised users to be wary of requests from persons claiming to be fellow workers or a company management board and requesting access or download of a file.

The exposure of Verizon employees is a result of a very simple social engineering technique that has been around for a long time. The technique has been successful over the years because security software cannot detect such activities since it’s believed that the action is authorized by the user. As a result, security researchers have advised workers to follow basic security measures and avoid responding to suspicious messages.