Background information
The new Swiss data protection law – what you need to know
by Florian Bodoky
Swiss job centre hacked: Sensitive data ended up on the darknet
22/2/2024
Translation: machine translated
The job placement company "Das Team AG" from Basel was the victim of a hacker attack. Thousands of data records from Swiss customers ended up on the darknet - including sensitive data such as copies of ID cards and medical records.
Team AG, a large Swiss recruitment agency based in Basel, has apparently fallen victim to a hacker attack - a ransomware attack, to be precise. The cybercriminals infiltrate their victims' systems with malware and not only steal data, but also encrypt it on the drives. This is usually followed by a ransom demand. The latter apparently did not happen in this case.
Data leak worse than suspected
However, the company apparently made a mistake: they underestimated the attack, which took place in December 2023. The company did report the incident to the Federal Data Protection Commissioner (FDPIC). Under the new Data Protection Act, companies are obliged to do so in certain situations.
In an analysis, however, the outflow of data was only assessed as "conditionally critical". Monitoring on 22 February then revealed that the extent of the data leakage was much greater than previously assumed - as the company told the portal "Watson" on request. Apparently, sensitive data such as copies of ID cards or medical records of job seekers also ended up online - totalling around 200 gigabytes.
Source: Florian Bodoky
The company, which operates 25 stores in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein, will provide the FDPIC with all the data following the analysis. They will also contact the persons concerned.
Data already online
The hack was apparently carried out by the ransomware gang "Black Basta", which is believed to be of Russian origin. According to their information on a leak page on the darknet and in relevant forums, all the data has already been leaked online.
Other Swiss companies, such as ABB, have also already fallen victim to "Black Basta". According to Reuters, "Black Basta" has already stolen over 100 million US dollars with its activities. <p
Header image: Shutterstock
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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