Personal information about nearly 10,000 employees and outside contractors and contributors at The Washington Post was exposed after the newspaper fell victim to a data breach. Analysis of the hacked data by Straight Arrow News indicates that high-profile individuals, including former national security advisor John Bolton, are among those affected.
The Post says it learned of the hack after being contacted on Sept. 29 by a “bad actor” who claimed to have gained access to its Oracle E-Business Suite applications, which manage financial transactions and other business functions.
After launching an investigation, The Post says, it was informed by Oracle that it had discovered a previously unknown security vulnerability in the E-Business Suite software.
The Post’s investigation determined the hackers had accessed its network between July 10 and Aug. 22. They said the hackers were able to obtain data on 9,720 employees and contractors, including full names, Social Security numbers, bank account and routing numbers, as well as tax and ID numbers.
Ransomware gang takes credit
The Post hasn’t named an alleged perpetrator. However, the Russian-speaking ransomware gang known as Clop took credit for the breach in a post to the dark web earlier this month. Clop, like other ransomware gangs, operates by stealing and then threatening to leak companies’ data unless a ransom payment is made.
It’s unclear whether Clop communicated with The Post. Emails sent by SAN to multiple addresses associated with Clop went unanswered.
A report by the Google Threat Intelligence Group said that Clop began targeting users of Oracle’s E-Business Suite this summer. It is not known whether the gang attacked The Post because it is a media company.
Bolton details exposed
Clop published a 183-gigabyte torrent file to its dark web leak site. SAN’s analysis found much of the data listed by The Post. Among the files are bank statements detailing payments made to Bolton, which include his address, for op-eds in The Post.
Bolton served as national security advisor to President Donald Trump during his first term but later became a vocal critic. Last month, the Justice Department charged Bolton with improperly storing top-secret documents, a charge he has pleaded not guilty to, in a move Trump’s opponents say appears politically motivated.
Bolton has reportedly been targeted by Iranian officials over the Trump-ordered assassination of an Iranian military commander in 2020. Trump recalled Bolton’s security detail shortly after taking office again in January.
Other high-profile contributors to The Post in the data include political commentator Fareed Zakaria, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough and media pundit Malcolm Nance.
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