Cayman National Corporation (CNC) announced on Sunday, Nov. 17 a massive data theft of its trust company Manx Bank that led to 2TB worth of data leaked.
The international banking company which operates in Dubai, Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man, confirmed the data hacking by a criminal group.
A Twitter account called Distributed Denial of Secrets released copies of CNC servers and other confidential information. The account also promised to release more information in the coming days.
Cayman National already released a statement saying, “A criminal investigation is ongoing and Cayman National is co-operating with the relevant law enforcement authorities to identify the perpetrators of the data theft.”
Before the attack, the group called Phineas Fisher targeted a bank and stolen money and documents from it. According to a report by Vice, the hackers are influential hacktivists motivated by a political will. The group is offering a $100,000 Bug Hunting Program to invite hackers to participate in the data breach activities.
The aim of the group is to disclose documents for the public interest. Hackers who will be successful in the task will be paid the amount in cryptocurrency.
Aside from banks, Phineas Fisher also mentioned hacking other companies like NSO Group, which is a mining and livestock company, as well as oil company Halliburton.
Contained Situation
Cayman National spokesman assured the public that the situation is ‘contained’ and that the only affected operations are within the Isle of Man only. Businesses in other territories are said to be unaffected by the data theft.
The bank requests clients on its website to share information in line with the regulations of the global financial industry. The bank also shut down most of its services due to system maintenance and major upgrade.
In addition, the company also posted helpful tips on its social media account, warning clients about the incident. It posted, “Refrain from accessing Online Banking through open and public access points, such as Internet cafes, public libraries, etc.”
The said hacker first went public back in 2016, when it hacked the Gamma Group. Phineas Fisher was known before as Phineas Phisher, Hack Back or Gamma Group PR. It has developed malicious software that targets civil society and journalists around the world.
In the same year, Phineas Fisher also gave an interview using a puppet and voice actor reading chat messages. Last year, the same hacker discussed with Crimethinc the strategies for fighting surveillance corporations.
