INC Ransom Group Claims Breach of Panama's Ministry of Economy and Finance

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has obtained a statement from the INC ransom group, confirming that they were responsible for breaching the computer systems of Panama's Ministry of Economy and Finance.

In a shocking revelation, the Ministry announced on [Date] that threat actors had likely compromised one of its computers. In response, the Ministry immediately activated its security protocols to contain the threat and protect the rest of the network.

"The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) informs the public that today it detected an incident involving malicious software at one of the offices of the Ministry," reads a statement issued by MEF last week. "The established security protocols were activated immediately and reinforced the preventive measures throughout the computer system to contain the intrusion."

According to the statement, critical systems vital to operations remain safe, but sensitive information was compromised. The Ministry revealed that over 1.5 terabytes of confidential data, including financial documents and internal emails, had been stolen.

The INC ransom group claimed responsibility for the breach in a statement published on their website. "We hacked the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama," they wrote. "We have more than 1.5TB data at our disposal, including: internal mail, confidential data, budgets and much more."

"We publish a small part of the information, but we will post a lot of interesting things in the public domain if the employees of the ministry do not make contact with us," the group added.

A History of Incidents

The INC ransom group has been active since 2023 and has claimed responsibility for breaching several organizations, including Xerox Business Solution and McLaren Health Care. Their tactics suggest a pattern of exploiting vulnerabilities in computer systems to gain access to sensitive data.

Industry Best Practices

Panama's Ministry of Economy and Finance reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding institutional and personal information, emphasizing that it follows industry best practices to prevent future incidents.

The Importance of Cybersecurity

The breach of Panama's Ministry of Economy and Finance serves as a stark reminder of the importance of cybersecurity in protecting sensitive data. As organizations continue to operate in a digital landscape, they must prioritize robust security measures to prevent such breaches from occurring.

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