Yes this is true that a hacker stolen US drone, tank documents for $200 on the dark web. Main reason of information leakage was because of nobody changed the default router password.
Those sensitive documents were discovered on the dark web marketplace by a security research firm Recorded Future who spoke with the hacker to confirm the validity of documents. They determined the breach took place as a result of a well known Netgear router vulnerability and a default FTP password on that router.
The hacker used a service called Shodan to find the vulnerable router, which is essentially a search engine for finding internet connected devices around the world. There are still thousands of routers online that are still vulnerable to this type of attack.
When attacker found the device, he compromise it as IT department at the Nevada Air Force base had not patched the router. From here, the attacker gained access to the router's root directory and the ability to remotely execute commands. This gave the hacker access to the computer of the Officer in Charge at the base and all the documents on it. Ironically, one of the documents the hacker ex-filtrated showed that the Officer had recently completed a "Cyber Awareness Challenge."
The government is aware of the leak and is investigating. Although they believe they have the hacker's name and country of origin, they haven't made that information public. if you want to read more about penetration testing techniques click next to read knowledge base articles.
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How to avoid these type of attacks?
High-profile hacks like this one will remain common (unless people apply critical security patches and change the default passwords on their devices) and could have lasting consequences. An attacker was able to infiltrate the computer network of a Nevada Air Force base (nobody changed the default password of a Netgear router on its network). Then able to access sensitive documents about the Air Force's MQ-9 Reaper drone and put them up for sale on a dark web marketplace.
Those sensitive documents were discovered on the dark web marketplace by a security research firm Recorded Future who spoke with the hacker to confirm the validity of documents. They determined the breach took place as a result of a well known Netgear router vulnerability and a default FTP password on that router.
How Hacker got access to Vulnerable Router?
The hacker used a service called Shodan to find the vulnerable router, which is essentially a search engine for finding internet connected devices around the world. There are still thousands of routers online that are still vulnerable to this type of attack.
When attacker found the device, he compromise it as IT department at the Nevada Air Force base had not patched the router. From here, the attacker gained access to the router's root directory and the ability to remotely execute commands. This gave the hacker access to the computer of the Officer in Charge at the base and all the documents on it. Ironically, one of the documents the hacker ex-filtrated showed that the Officer had recently completed a "Cyber Awareness Challenge."
The government is aware of the leak and is investigating. Although they believe they have the hacker's name and country of origin, they haven't made that information public. if you want to read more about penetration testing techniques click next to read knowledge base articles.
Some links you like to read about penetration testing
Thanks for reading now let me recommend you some other practical guides about penetration testing of Remote Access Protocols, Remote Desktop Protocol, SSH Network Protocol, Network Routers, Wordpress website using WPSeku from My Hack Stuff.
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