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Hackers Exploit Vulnerability in Over 80,000 Fortinet Firewalls, Compromising British Government and NHS Data
Hackers exploited a vulnerability in more than 80,000 firewalls belonging to the Fortinet company. Using previously stolen data, the attackers bypassed protection systems that safeguard Britain’s critical infrastructure.
Among the compromised accounts are data belonging to employees of British embassies in Thailand and Mauritius, as well as officials in Derbyshire and Waltham Forest in east London.

Logins and passwords are already being sold on darknet forums, with access reportedly priced at up to $60,000 (£44,000).

Why the NHS Is at Risk

Among the stolen data are access credentials to the National Health Service (NHS) systems, energy companies, and drug suppliers.
Saif Abed, a former NHS doctor now working as a cybersecurity expert, warned that the breach could trigger a “catastrophic” incident threatening patient safety.
“This is exactly the kind of attack that becomes the first step toward large-scale ransomware attacks,” he explained.
Something similar has happened before: in June 2024, hackers likely linked to Russia breached the systems of pathology lab Synnovis, causing more than 1,000 operations and 2,000 appointments to be cancelled.
The Attack Is Still Ongoing
Cybersecurity researcher Volodymyr Diachenko, who first discovered the breach, reported that the hackers gained access to the “core networks” of the Foreign Office, and the attack could spread to other government departments.
The attack code, which was analyzed by the publication, was written in Russian. Access to the stolen data is being offered by a user going by the alias “SantaAd” on darknet forums.

Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) confirmed a “brute-force” attack on Fortinet systems and ordered organizations to check their networks and isolate compromised devices.

Is the State Involved?

There is no direct evidence of Russian state involvement in the attack. However, Britain believes the Kremlin knowingly turns a blind eye to hackers operating from Russian territory, using them as a tool of global destabilization.
As a reminder, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group recently discovered a new espionage .NET backdoor called STOCKSTAY, which hackers from the Turla group are deploying against Ukrainian military and government institutions, as well as European diplomatic agencies. Russia’s new backdoor is targeting Ukraine: Google discovers spyware virus.

It was also reported that Ukraine’s Security Service, together with the FBI, exposed systematic attempts by Russian intelligence services to hack the messaging apps of officials in Ukraine, Europe, and the United States. Russian intelligence services exposed in attempts to “hack” the messengers of officials in Ukraine, Europe, and the US.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​