]init[ - Services for the eSociety

Three German IT firms that provide services to federal ministries and agencies appear to have been spied on by unidentified hackers.

Adesso, a Dortmund-based IT business, claims on its website that after the initial attack—on which the identity of the attackers was revealed—external IT security specialists discovered that the unknown hackers had access to the company networks.

Affected was Materna, a Dortmund-based company. According to Materna, it has not yet been feasible to establish whether email correspondence, particularly with federal authorities, has been lost.

The third attack targeted the Init corporation in Berlin. The Federal Ministries of the Interior and Economics are among its clients. At BR's request, Init verified the cyberattack. Customers who are affected have been alerted.

Source: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/hackerangriffe-auf-it-dienstleister-des-bundes,TdnLki7

TPRM report: https://scoringcyber.rankiteo.com/company/-init---services-for-the-esociety

"id": "ini10929723",
"linkid": "-init---services-for-the-esociety",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "05/2023",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Information Technology',
                        'location': 'Dortmund, Germany',
                        'name': 'Adesso',
                        'type': 'IT Business'},
                       {'industry': 'Information Technology',
                        'location': 'Dortmund, Germany',
                        'name': 'Materna',
                        'type': 'IT Company'},
                       {'customers_affected': ['Federal Ministries of the '
                                               'Interior and Economics'],
                        'industry': 'Information Technology',
                        'location': 'Berlin, Germany',
                        'name': 'Init Corporation',
                        'type': 'IT Company'}],
 'customer_advisories': ['Customers who are affected have been alerted'],
 'data_breach': {'type_of_data_compromised': ['Email correspondence']},
 'description': 'Three German IT firms that provide services to federal '
                'ministries and agencies appear to have been spied on by '
                'unidentified hackers. Adesso, a Dortmund-based IT business, '
                'claims on its website that after the initial attack—on which '
                'the identity of the attackers was revealed—external IT '
                'security specialists discovered that the unknown hackers had '
                'access to the company networks. Affected was Materna, a '
                'Dortmund-based company. According to Materna, it has not yet '
                'been feasible to establish whether email correspondence, '
                'particularly with federal authorities, has been lost. The '
                'third attack targeted the Init corporation in Berlin. The '
                'Federal Ministries of the Interior and Economics are among '
                "its clients. At BR's request, Init verified the cyberattack. "
                'Customers who are affected have been alerted.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['Email correspondence', 'Company networks']},
 'motivation': 'Espionage',
 'references': [{'source': 'Adesso'},
                {'source': 'Materna'},
                {'source': 'Init Corporation'}],
 'response': {'communication_strategy': ['Customers who are affected have been '
                                         'alerted'],
              'third_party_assistance': ['External IT security specialists']},
 'threat_actor': 'Unidentified hackers',
 'title': 'Cyber Espionage on Three German IT Firms',
 'type': 'Cyber Espionage'}