The hacker group BlackShadow attacked the Israeli hosting provider Cyberserve, stealing client databases and disrupting the company’s services.
Cyberserve hoster is used by various organizations in the country, including local radio stations, museums and educational institutions.
Bleeping Computer reports that since Friday, October 29, 2021, when trying to access sites hosted on Cyberserve, visitors have encountered errors and messages that the resource is not available due to cybersecurity issues.
The hack group BlackShadow claimed responsibility for the incident and it is now extorting $ 1,000,000 in cryptocurrency from the hosting company and its customers, otherwise threatening to publish the data stolen during the attack.
Although the victims were given 48 hours to pay, the hackers almost immediately leaked a sample of data containing 1,000 records, apparently seeking to back up their claims with evidence. Moreover, it is reported that the leak has affected the personal information of users of a large LGBT website called Atraf:
Many sites hosted on Cyberserve were unavailable for a long time. Other resources affected include:
- public transport company Kavim (Dan Bus);
- travel agency “Pegas“;
- children’s museum of Holon.
Interestingly, Israel’s National Cyber Security Administration told The Times of Israel that they had previously warned Cyberserve several times about an imminent attack. It is unclear whether Cyberserve ignored these warnings or simply failed to find vulnerabilities that cybercriminals ultimately exploited.
Omri Segev Moyal
BlackShadow is an Iranian state-sponsored hacker group that is linked to the Pay2Key ransomware strain that has been used repeatedly against Israeli targets.
However, unlike typical ransomware attacks, it is believed that the attackers behind BlackShadow are not financially motivated.
Omri Segev Moyal, co-founder and CEO of Israeli cybersecurity firm Profero, told Bleeping Computer that this hacker group is responsible for the attacks on gas stations in Iran and acts in contrary to Israel’s interests.
