Data Breach on DEA Law Enforcement System Grants Cyber Criminals Access to 16 Databases

By Alicia Hope, CPO Magazine

U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is investigating a potential law enforcement system data breach associated with an online harassment community that impersonates police officers.

KrebsOnSecurity journalist Brian Krebs received a tip that hackers gained unauthorized access to the esp.usdoj.gov data portal, the Law Enforcement Inquiry and Alerts (LEIA) system.

Krebs obtained the information from the administrator of the Doxbin cyberbullying community identified as “KT” with links to the LAPSUS$ hacking group.

Doxbin members post personal information online and participate in “swatting,” while LAPSUS$ was responsible for high-profile data breaches on Microsoft, NVIDIA, Okta, Samsung, and others.

LAPSUS$ also sells a service for making Emergency Data Requests to tech companies, social media platforms, and mobile service providers. The imposters trick organizations by claiming that the data requests could not wait for warrants because of their emergency nature.

Krebs reported the alleged intrusion to the DEA, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

Without clarifying the situation, the anti-drug agency responded that it takes any alleged intrusion into DEA computer systems seriously and would investigate the incident.


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