Pro-Ukrainian hackers claim breach of Russian cybersecurity firm Avanpost

A pro-Ukrainian hacker group, known as Cyber Anarchy Squad, has claimed responsibility for hacking the Russian information security firm Avanpost and leaking a significant amount of its data. They also reported destroying more than 60 terabytes of data and leaking 390 gigabytes of ‘valuable information.’

Avanpost, which has been operating in Russia for 15 years and specialises in developing authorisation and authentication systems for local businesses, confirmed the incident. The company acknowledged that its infrastructure was hit by a ‘serious cyberattack’ but did not provide details on the extent of the damage or the specific data that was leaked.

Avanpost advised its customers, including Russian airports, a large water supply company, and telecom service providers, to update their identification data and change passwords ‘as a precaution.’ The company also urged people not to trust ‘rumors’ and to rely only on official information.

The exact method of the hackers’ entry into Avanpost’s system, the tools they used, and the specifics of the leaked data remain unclear.

Cyber Anarchy Squad shared some of the allegedly leaked data on Telegram and the file hosting service Mega. They also posted screenshots of what they claim to be a group chat of Avanpost employees discussing the hack. However, the authenticity of this data could not be independently verified.