Play Ransomware Operators Could Have Accessed Swiss Government Data

Daniel ZimmermannJune 16, 2023

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The Swiss government has reported that in a recent Play ransomware attack on IT vendor Xplain, attackers may have gained access to their operational data. In addition, later the country’s authorities warned that they were the target of a powerful DDoS attack.

Let me remind you that we also wrote that Russian hackers intended to shut down Ukrainian electrical substations using Industroyer2 malware, and also that Russian Hackers Launched a Massive Spear-Phishing Campaign.

And also information security experts said that the Russian DDOSIA Project Pays Volunteers to Participate in DDOS Attacks on Western Companies.

Last week, the Swiss government announced that it was affected by an attack on Xplain, a vendor that provides various government departments, administrative divisions and even the country’s armed forces with software solutions.

On May 23, 2023, Xplain was hacked by the extortionate group Play, and the attackers immediately stated that they had stolen various documents from the company containing personal and confidential data, financial and tax information, and so on. On June 1, 2023, the group published a full dump of the stolen data on their dark web site, as they apparently could not force Xplain to pay the ransom.

The Swiss government and the Play ransomware
Play is leaking stolen data

Swiss authorities have now said that although the investigation into the incident is still ongoing, it is likely that the attackers leaked information belonging to the Swiss Federal Council into the public domain.

Currently, specific [affected] units and data are being specified and determined. Contrary to initial findings, following recent in-depth clarifications, it must be assumed that operational data may also have been affected [during the attack].according to the official press release of the authorities.

In addition, soon the government of the country published a second press release, which warns of problems with access to various Federal Council websites and online services. The cause of this failure was a series of DDoS attacks launched by the pro-Russian hacker group NoName, which has been attacking countries and organizations associated with NATO since the beginning of 2022.

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