The ‘Hello Sarkar’ website, which was down for nearly a month after being hacked by a Russian hacker group, is finally back online. This website is used by citizens to submit complaints and feedback related to government services. It had stopped working since February 27.
Government Formed Investigation Team After Cyberattack
Once news of the hack became public, the Nepal government formed a study committee to look into the issue. After nearly a month of investigation and repair, the website resumed its services on Monday.
Hackers Claimed to Steal Sensitive Government Data
A hacker group named ‘Ghudra‘, which is part of the larger Russian cyber group ‘Fancy Bears APT28’, claimed responsibility for the attack. They posted on a cybercrime forum called Breach Forum, saying they had stolen sensitive information from the Hello Sarkar system.
Leaked Data Allegedly Includes Passwords, Emails, and More
According to the hacker group’s post, they had access to the website’s file manager, security settings, database backup, usernames, passwords, email addresses, and phone numbers. They also shared a screenshot showing that only 8.32 GB of space remained on a 49.98 GB server.
Hackers Put Nepal Government’s Data Up for Sale
The hackers claimed to have data of around 100,000 users. They listed the stolen information for sale on the dark web, pricing it at $1,000. They also mentioned that anyone wanting “live shell access” would have to pay $1,300.
Government Has Not Confirmed the Data Breach
Even though the hackers made big claims about accessing large amounts of sensitive data, the government has not officially confirmed whether any real user information was compromised.
