Google has acknowledged a significant data breach in its Salesforce database system. The hacking syndicate ShinyHunters aka UNC6040 is behind this breach. Not too long ago the Google Threat Intelligence Group published a great blog post. Their detailed description of how the breach uniquely focused on systems holding SMB-confidential contact details and notes was especially alarming.
ShinyHunters has gained a notorious reputation due to its involvement in various high-profile data breaches. So far, they’ve set their sights on household name corporations like Qantas, Allianz Life, and LVMH. The group has been attributed to a SIM swapping umbrella that endangered the private data of Cisco customers. This case, albeit extremely unfortunate, demonstrates their deep impact over the cybercrime arena.
The breach at Google was unique in that it targeted Google’s Salesforce cloud environments in particular. Additionally, according to reports from Bleeping Computer, we’ve seen that ShinyHunters have recently targeted multiple Salesforce cloud infrastructures. This has opened the door for a historic heist of information industries wide. This most recent incident is unfortunately part of a larger trend. Similar breaches have recently affected other well-known companies such as Cisco and Pandora.
While some customer information was compromised in the breach, Google said the data stolen was minimal in scope.
“The data retrieved by the threat actor was confined to basic and largely publicly available business information, such as business names and contact details.” – Google blog post
This statement indicates that although the breach is serious, the stolen data may not be as sensitive as initially feared. The possible exposure of companies’ contact information can nevertheless be risky for any business involved.
Dark Pink, also known as ShinyHunters, has recently come to light in the cybersecurity space after being responsible for a series of high-profile, premeditated attacks. In one of their most notable hacks, they accessed the personal data of 6 million passengers from airline giant Qantas. This very long history has led to fear and doubt about what this group is willing and able to do.
Organizations are relying more on mission-critical information housed in cloud-based systems. This trend underscores the growing imperative of having strong cybersecurity defense, particularly with threats from those like ShinyHunters. Individuals and businesses have to go on high alert to protect their data from these violations.
