The Traffic Research and Analysis Group (GIAT) of the Civil Guard has been investigating for several days a possible cyber attack on the driver database of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) after alarms went off that the organization could having been a victim of cybercriminals.
The investigation has not yet confirmed that the cybercriminals have obtained the data of the total number of drivers registered in the DGT database and that, as stated The confidential, They would have been put up for sale in a forum specialized in the sale and purchase of information stolen in computer attacks. If so, the hackers they would have obtained the data of 27 million drivers.
According to the media, the stolen information would include license plates, full names, IDs, addresses and details of current insurance. In addition to selling the complete data package, hackers They would also offer the possibility of consulting specific data as if it were a search engine. Although the exact price of the database is unknown, it could reach several million euros.
The nature of the potentially hacked information, such specific data, is extremely useful for the criminal activity of cybercriminals, who use it in identity theft, phishing and other types of scams. According to the sources cited by El Confidencial, the publication date of the data indicates that it probably comes from a recent cyber attack on the DGT. Also that everything points to a national actor as responsible, just as in the recent attacks on Banco Santander, Iberdrola and Telefónica.
However, Traffic sources have confirmed to the Efe agency that several suspicious users have already been identified who have tried to enter the database to gather information, whose access has been cut off, and whose identity has been put into question. knowledge of the GIAT. The organization has also explained to the Europa Press agency that information “constantly” reaches Traffic about improper access, which immediately cuts off and transfers the case to the GIAT of the Civil Guard, which investigates everything related to road safety and traffic. transport.
The DGT has specified that a significant number of institutions have access to its database, such as city councils, and that, “on many occasions”, cybercriminals advertise the sale of this information that they do not actually have. “They are false,” indicate sources from the DGT, who recognize that there are also cases in which they are “true.”
Source: www.eldiario.es
