The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) has reportedly fallen victim to a cyber attack that targeted its website. Falcon Feed, a threat intelligence service, took to Twitter to share the news about the attack, attributing it to a group called Anonymous Sudan. However, despite the alleged attack, the DOC website currently appears to be operational, suggesting that the disruption may have been temporary.
The Cyber Express reached out to the Department of Commerce for more information regarding the cyber attack, but no official response or statement has been issued at this time. It is important to note that Anonymous Sudan is not affiliated with the hacktivist group Anonymous. The group has gained attention for carrying out denial-of-service attacks motivated by religious reasons against several Western nations since the beginning of the year.
This recent attack on the Department of Commerce raises questions of whether it is a follow-up to a similar cyber attack that took place in 2020. Reports indicate that the previous attack targeted SolarWinds, a well-known security vendor that provides services to numerous Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. This supply chain attack compromised the communication systems of the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments. Although the hackers behind that attack were believed to be Russian threat actors monitoring internal email traffic, no official hacker group was identified, leaving room for speculation about the attacker’s profile. Anonymous Sudan, a hacker group that gained attention in early 2023, further adds to the speculation of a potential connection between the two attacks.
Anonymous Sudan has also announced its plan to target Sweden. The group claimed responsibility for a service outage experienced by Sweden’s government-owned passenger train operator, SJ. Additionally, another notable threat actor known as UserSec has reportedly allied with new hacking groups, with Anonymous Sudan pledging its support to target NATO members alongside UserSec and KillNet.
A report by Bloomberg suggests that Anonymous Sudan has ties to Russia and has been involved in significant data breaches, including those targeting Microsoft. Cybersecurity researchers have connected the group’s activities to its actions against Sweden, Israel, and the United States. Anonymous Sudan describes itself as a hacktivist group fighting for oppressed Muslims worldwide from Africa. The group’s recent DDoS attacks against Microsoft in June were claimed to be retaliation for U.S. policy regarding Sudan’s military conflict. Truesec, a Stockholm-based threat intelligence firm, conducted an investigation into Anonymous Sudan and concluded that the group is a front for Russia, a finding supported by other security experts.
Despite its relatively short existence, Anonymous Sudan has consistently used cyber attacks to promote the narrative that the West is hostile towards Islam. With the recent attack on the Department of Commerce and support from other threat actors, the group is expected to grow further and launch larger-scale attacks.
It should be noted that this report is based on internal and external research obtained through various means, and the information provided is for reference purposes only. Users are responsible for their reliance on this information, and The Cyber Express assumes no liability for its accuracy or consequences.