Several companies of Big Tech they would have suffered a scam, which led them to deliver user data to some hackers posing as forces of ordere. Google, Apple, Snap, Twittere platforms MetaBesides Discordthey would have delivered sensitive data believing in fake warrants.
Big Tech: user data to hackers, who pretend to be law enforcement
According to Bloomberg reports, a group of hackers have presented bogus judicial warrants to Big Tech companies to obtain personal data of some users. The hackers allegedly perpetrated the scam by gaining access to some email accounts of federal agencies in the United States. In doing so, they used a legitimate email address to obtain stolen information.
Bloomberg has maintained the anonymity of the people involved, also because it seems that the tactics used by the hackers are particularly execrable. In fact, they seem to have blackmailed users with the threat of sharing sexually explicit material obtained on social networks. Among the victims, there are men, women and even minors.
Alex Stamosformer head of security at Facebook, explains to Bloomberg that: “Tech companies should implement a policy of rcall for confirmation. It should also push law enforcement to use their dedicated portals so that they can more easily identify potential hackers ”.
Google told Bloomberg that it reported hackers who impersonated agents in 202 to authorities. And it’s working with law enforcement to authorize only legitimate requests. Facebook explained that the platform checks all requests to identify abuse, a statement similar to Discord’s. Twitter and Apple have not commented on the matter.
At the moment there are no further details on the story, we will keep you updated in case there is any news.