Qilin admits Ukrainian foreign affairs ministry breach

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was claimed to have been breached by the Russia-linked Qilin ransomware group, which purported to have stolen the ministry's sensitive data, some of which have allegedly been peddled to third parties, Security Affairs reports.

While Qilin asserted the theft of personal details, private communications, and official decrees, such data breach claims have not yet been confirmed by the Ukrainian foreign affairs ministry.

Such a development comes after Qilin took responsibility for separate attacks against major U.S. local newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises and Japanese specialized cancer treatment center Utsunomiya Central Clinic earlier this week.

Qilin, which is believed to have been active for the past three years, has gained notoriety after targeting UK third-party medical testing and diagnostics provider Synnovis in June. Qilin's attack against Synnovis was reported to have involved the exploitation of a VPN portal's compromised credentials for initial access.