Optima Tax Relief, a leading tax resolution and settlement firm in the U.S., was claimed to have been compromised by the Chaos ransomware operation, which has leaked 69 GB of data purportedly stolen from the organization, BleepingComputer reports.
Included in the exposed data were corporate and customer case files, which contain Social Security numbers, addresses, and phone addresses that could be leveraged for identity theft and other illicit cyber activity. While additional details regarding remain lacking as Optima Tax Relief has yet to acknowledge the compromise, such an intrusion has entailed double extortion tactics that resulted in server encryption, according to sources close to the matter. Over half a dozen organizations have allegedly been breached by the Chaos ransomware gang since its emergence in March, the most recent of which prior to Optima Tax Relief is the Salvation Army. The Chaos ransomware group was also noted to be distinct from the Chaos ransomware builder, which was initially discovered four years ago.
Included in the exposed data were corporate and customer case files, which contain Social Security numbers, addresses, and phone addresses that could be leveraged for identity theft and other illicit cyber activity. While additional details regarding remain lacking as Optima Tax Relief has yet to acknowledge the compromise, such an intrusion has entailed double extortion tactics that resulted in server encryption, according to sources close to the matter. Over half a dozen organizations have allegedly been breached by the Chaos ransomware gang since its emergence in March, the most recent of which prior to Optima Tax Relief is the Salvation Army. The Chaos ransomware group was also noted to be distinct from the Chaos ransomware builder, which was initially discovered four years ago.
