Cyberattack at Orange Belgium compromises 850K

Orange Belgium, a subsidiary of major multinational telecommunications service provider Orange Group, had information from 850,000 customers stolen following an attack in late July, The Register reports.

Attackers who infiltrated Orange Belgium's systems were able to compromise individuals' full names, phone numbers, SIM card numbers, and personal unlocking key codes, according to Orange. Despite Orange's statements emphasizing the lack of evidence indicating the misuse of stolen data and allaying fears of potential SIM swapping attacks, experts have warned of the increased risk of illicit cyber activity faced by those impacted by the incident. "The association between the SIM ID, phone numbers, and real names is worrying and could enable very targeted fraud, such as phishing attacks addressing people by name or to re-associate phone numbers with a real person," said Copper Horse CEO David Rogers. Such an attack comes as SIM swapping specialists Scattered Spider, ShinyHunters, and Lapsus$ were reported to have unveiled a joint Telegram channel for a potential new ransomware operation.