Cybercrime feud erupts on dark web; rivals website seized

Prolific cyber extortion gang ShinyHunters says it has hacked its rival, cl0p Cyber security experts say the fight appears to be genuine, one calls it 'a twist for sure' ShinyHunters tells Reuters it acted after getting threats from cl0p; cl0p has yet to respond publicly By AJ Vicens and Raphael Satter WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (Reuters) — One of the world's best-known cybercrime groups said on Sunday it had hijacked one of its chief rivals' dark web site, bringing what it said was a long-simmering feud out into the open.

ShinyHunters, a digital extortion group known for aggressive data theft campaigns, said it broke into the dark web site of cybercrime gang cl0p on Friday after discovering a vulnerability in cl0p's software and using it to establish wide-ranging control over the group's infrastructure. "We basically own them now," ShinyHunters said in an online chat with Reuters. Cl0p did not respond to repeated messages seeking comment. ch.

Two cybersecurity experts told Reuters the clash appeared to be genuine. "Street beefs on the dark web are a real thing," said Brandon Parsons, a threat intelligence manager with Minnesota-based Ascent Solutions. Joe Roosen, the senior director of security research at Texas-based SpyCloud, said that he had never seen one cybercrime group take another head-on quite so openly. "This was a twist for sure," he said.

" Oracle Software Exploit Clash ShinyHunters said it had been at loggerheads with cl0p over the alleged theft last year of a software exploit taking advantage of what was a then-unknown flaw in the E-Business Suite (EBS) made by Oracle. Such "zero days" — so-called because cybersecurity teams have had zero days to fix them — are particularly treasured by hackers because they can be used to gain sweeping access to vulnerable networks. Cl0p, a Russian-speaking cybercrime gang, used the EBS vulnerability to steal data from what a Google analyst estimated was more than 100 companies, but ShinyHunters told Reuters it had discovered the zero day first.

As the dispute festered, cl0p threatened to reveal the identities of several of its rival's members, according to ShinyHunters. ShinyHunters in turn threatened to reveal the details of cl0p's internal workings. Reuters could not immediately establish the veracity of ShinyHunters' account of the feud. Cl0p is counted as one of the most prolific and innovative cybercrime groups, largely because of its skill in finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in enterprise software.

In 2023, cl0p leveraged a bug in MOVEit file management software to steal data on tens of millions of people from more than 600 companies. Just last month it claimed to have stolen large volumes of data ​from nearly 50 companies worldwide, including Philips, Shell, Fiserv and GE. ShinyHunters is similarly prolific. S.

schools. This month, AI company Anthropic said it had caught ShinyHunters-linked hackers trying to use its tools. com; +1 202 430 9389;)