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Europol Breached: Secret Documents for Sale on the Dark Web

Pietro Melillo : 7 July 2024 13:27

July 6, 2024: A well-known user of the BreachForums, IntelBroker, has recently announced the sale of a collection of crypto-related documents stolen from Europol’s EPE platform. The data breach, which occurred in May 2024, involved the theft of critical files and documents.

Breach Details

The EPE (Europol Platform for Experts) platform is a secure system used by Europol for sharing sensitive information among European law enforcement agencies. The breach allowed hackers to access valuable information, potentially jeopardizing several ongoing investigations.

Reportedly, IntelBroker has uploaded a small amount of these documents to the forum as proof of the successful breach. In a post published on July 6, 2024, at 9:59 PM, the user wrote:

Today, I have leaked a small amount of crypto-related documents from Europol’s EPE platform. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

At this moment, we cannot precisely confirm the authenticity of the breach, as the organization has not yet released any official press statements on their website regarding the incident. Therefore, this article should be considered as an ‘intelligence source.’

Implications and Risks

The disclosure of such documents could have serious consequences for the security of Europol’s operations. The stolen information could include details on ongoing investigations, operational methodologies, and sensitive data from various European law enforcement agencies. This would not only compromise investigations but could also endanger the lives of the agents involved.

Final Considerations

The sale of stolen encrypted documents represents a significant threat to information security at the European level. Law enforcement must face the growing challenge of cybersecurity by adopting stricter measures to protect their systems and sensitive information.

As is our custom, we always leave room for a statement from the organization should they wish to provide updates on the matter. We would be happy to publish such information with a specific article highlighting the issue.

RHC will monitor the evolution of the situation to publish further news on the blog should there be substantial updates. If there are individuals informed about the facts who wish to provide information anonymously, they can use the encrypted email of the whistleblower.

Pietro Melillo
Head of the Dark Lab group. A Computer Engineer specialised in Cyber Security with a deep passion for Hacking and technology, currently CISO of WURTH Italia, he was responsible for Cyber Threat Intelligence & Dark Web analysis services at IBM, carries out research and teaching activities on Cyber Threat Intelligence topics at the University of Sannio, as a Ph.D, author of scientific papers and development of tools to support cybersecurity activities. Leads the CTI Team "RHC DarkLab"