State Department investigating reports of data theft allegedly involving federal tech consulting firm

The U.S. State Department said it is investigating claims that a hacker stole government data from a contractor.

On Tuesday, a hacker known as “IntelBroker” claimed to have stolen data related to multiple U.S. agencies including the State Department, Defense Department and National Security Agency. The hacker said they breached Acuity — a Virginia-based technology consulting firm that works with federal agencies. 

Acuity and several of the agencies named in the cybercriminal’s post did not respond to requests for comment. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency declined to comment.

But a State Department spokesperson told Recorded Future News that they are “aware of claims that a cyber incident has occurred and is currently investigating.”  

“The Department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the Department’s cybersecurity posture. For security reasons, we will not provide details on the nature and scope of the claim,” they said. 

A researcher who shared the cybercrime forum post said they were forced to blur out much of the it because there were dozens of legitimate U.S. government emails included. 

The email addresses come from people working for the State Department, FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department. 

The alleged hacker behind the incident touted the breach on X, formerly known as Twitter, offering to provide the full leak to anyone who wanted it. 

The same hacker has made multiple allegations about hacks in the past, including claims they breached UberEats last November. 

BleepingComputer reported that IntelBroker was behind several high profile incidents in recent months, including the sale of data stolen from one of the most popular grocery delivery services for Asian and Hispanic foods and Washington, D.C.’s healthcare exchange platform.