Anonymous hacks WTO, leaks personal info

A hacker claiming affiliation with Anonymous broke into databases maintained by the World Trade Organization and leaked personal information for thousands of officials, according to reports.

The individual behind the cyberattack injected malicious code into the vulnerable ecampus.wto.org domain, which provides online course in trade matters.

{mosads}The hacker, whose identity has not been disclosed, discovered email addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses and other details for more than 2,100 WTO officials and staff around the world, according to Hack Read, which interviewed him or her.

The breach also resulted in the exposure of login credentials for 58 administrators and information on 80 apparent job candidates.

Much of the information was posted on PasteBin, a message board site that allows users to remain anonymous.

The motive for the attack was not apparent.

“We are here to hack and destroy your all [sic] systems,” a post read. “We will not stop. We will not give up … Expec [sic] us.”

While it did not appear to reveal Social Security numbers or financial information, the breach is considered serious because it could prompt spear phishing attacks against powerful officials with the WTO.

Those attacks, delivered via fraudulent emails, could give hackers around the world a way to break further into WTO systems as well as the networks of governments with which the group’s officials are connected.

The hacker responsible was apparently also behind cyberattacks on major Israeli arms dealer FAB Defense.

Anonymous is a loosely affiliated group of anarchist hackers located around the world.