Data Stolen in ATF Hack Reportedly Released to Public

Last week, the ATF confirmed the agency was the target of a cyber attack. That’s not good, even if the system penetrated was about the targets of investigations, rather than gun purchase records or anything of the sort. Still, it happened. The ATF admitted it, but would not confirm if the ransomware outfit known as Qilin was responsible.

That’s still up in the air.

However, Qilin did release a bunch of data that it claims it got from the hack, and sure enough, they’re the targets of past investigations.

A likely Russian-speaking cybercriminal gang on Monday leaked what appear to be sensitive law enforcement files it stole from the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The dumped files appear to include information on targets of past ATF investigations and analyses of their phone communications, according to a review of the data by CNN and an independent cybersecurity researcher. Some of the files correspond to specific ATF agents and high-profile cases they apparently worked on.

The data cover investigations related to armed robbery, arson, explosives and homicide, according to the researcher, Ron Fabela. A chunk of the cases mentioned in the files fall under the work the ATF’s Houston Field Division, Fabela said.

In a statement on Monday, ATF said it “cannot confirm the authenticity, nature, or scope” of the leaked data at this time and that the agency was working with the Department of Justice and other federal agencies to “assess the claims and take appropriate actions.”

“As ATF previously stated, the affected system was not connected to – and the incident did not affect – ATF’s other operational systems. ATF’s ability to carry out its mission has not been impacted,” the agency’s statement continued.

Maybe it’s just me, but that sounds like a confirmation. If it wasn’t real, they’d have come out and said it was fake. The fact that they haven’t makes it seem likely that it’s legit.

But now the questions begin, because how in the hell did they breach the system in the first place? You’d think the ATF would have pretty good encryption on something like that, since investigative targets are the kind of data you keep as secret as many of our military movements and developments. You’d think they’d have some of the best encryption possible, so how did Qilin or whoever get in?

Did they not have decent security on it? If not, why? Did past directors prioritize harassing law-abiding citizens instead of keeping sensitive information secured? If not, then what happened?

And one has to wonder just how many resources Qilin has to draw on if the security was as good as you’d think would be warranted for something like that. If a “Russian-speaking” gang is really an asset of Putin’s regime, which isn’t entirely impossible, then they have government assets to draw on for an attack like this.

None of it bodes well, that’s for sure. None at all, because if they’ve got the kind of security I’d imagine they should have, how many other systems are vulnerable right now?

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their extreme gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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