Ransomware attack compromises UN agency data

The United Nations Development Programme has confirmed having its locally hosted server targeted by a ransomware attack that resulted in data exfiltration two weeks after the 8Base ransomware gang laid claim on the intrusion while exposing some of the data stolen from the UN agency, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Intelligence notification given to the UNDP on March 27 indicated that some of its human resources and procurement information have been compromised as a result of the attack, according to the agency, which emphasized that it has not and would not fulfill any demanded ransom by the threat actors.

Such a development comes amid escalating cyberattacks against humanitarian organizations around the world during the past few years, with the World Council of Churches claimed to have been targeted by the Rhysida ransomware gang last Christmas, and both Amnesty International and the International Committee for the Red Cross being subjected to suspected Chinese state-sponsored cyberattacks in 2022.