- The hacking crew called ShinyHunters is bragging that they swiped almost 300 gigabytes of data from the Council of Europe.
- This comes just a few months after an attack on the European Commission’s web systems.
- The Council hasn’t confirmed this data theft yet, and no outside analysts have looked into the dataset to ascertain the full scope.
ShinyHunters recently took credit for compromising the Council of Europe. The posted on their leak site, claiming that they took tons of sensitive employee data from the organization.
The group posted about the alleged theft on their leak platform, and cybersecurity monitors later picked it up.
Details of the Attackers Claims
ShinyHunters apparently swiped about 297GB of data. Inside the database, there’s allegedly 409,000 payroll checks and over 14,000 resumes and CVs.
They also claimed there’s employee records, financial info, recruitment stuff, and all sorts of admin documents in the archive.
Although the reports are still unconfirmed, they might include information from HR department offices, administration, Parliament, and healthcare functions.
If ShinyHunters’ claims prove to be true, the information released could potentially include private information about all of a company’s active and prior employees.
This means that information on employee salaries, when they got hired, and other HR records are probably in the hands of these attackers.
This kind of data in the wrong hands can cause serious damage, we’re talking identity theft, financial fraud, phishing, etc. The Council of Europe has not publicly confirmed the breach. It has not commented on the scope of any potential data exposure.
For now, treat this as an alleged incident. We can only confirm that it’s legit when Independent evidence or an official statement surfaces. Already, researchers have confirmed that the post actually exists on the leak site, but they haven’t examined the full dataset yet. that.
A Separate Organization from the European Union
Many people confuse the Council of Europe with the EU. But they’re both separate entities.
The Council of Europe started 1949. Its aim? To promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law throughout Europe. These days, this organization boasts dozens of EU countries as members.
The organization also connects closely to the European Court of Human Rights. That court is one of Europe’s most influential legal institutions.
Due to its role in politics and its global influence, there will be a great deal of interest from governments, regulators, and cybersecurity professionals when a confirmed compromise occurs.
Second Major European Institution Targeted This Year
The timing raises extra concerns. Another high-profile cyber incident hit European institutions earlier this year.
In March, attackers claimed responsibility for a breach affecting infrastructure tied to the European Commission’s online services. That incident reportedly impacted several European agencies and organizations.
The European Commission later acknowledged that attackers gained access to part of its cloud-based infrastructure. It said some data may have been accessed during the incident.
Security researchers have noted similarities between the two cases. ShinyHunters reportedly has ties to both claims.
No documented evidence indicating that these two incidents are connected directly. But the consistent attack on major European institutions shows a troubling trend. Attacks against government and international organizations are rising.
European authorities are fighting back. Germany has identified two Russian nationals as leaders of the REvil and GandCrab ransomware gangs, a significant step in holding cybercriminals accountable.
Who is ShinyHunters?
ShinyHunters stands out in the cybercrime scene. For years, they’ve been behind a string of data theft and extortion schemes.
Instead of locking up computer systems like typical ransomware groups, they go after sensitive information. Their playbook is pretty simple: steal the data, then demand payment or else they’ll leak it.
They’ve hit all sorts of targets—businesses, schools, tech companies, even organizations tied to governments around the globe.
Cybersecurity analysts take its claims seriously. ShinyHunters has a history of actually publishing stolen information after announcing attacks. Still, researchers stress that experts should independently verify threat actor claims whenever possible.
What Remains Unclear
Several key questions still have no answers. We do not know how attackers may have gained access to the organization’s systems. We also do not know how long they remained inside the network.
It is also unclear whether they’ve released any of the data publicly so far.
If the data gets verified, this would rank as one of the largest publicly reported exposures of employee and payroll information involving a major European institution this year. Until then, investigators, cybersecurity researchers, and affected organizations will keep watching closely for further evidence and an official response.
