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Hackers reportedly breach contractor for Russian intelligence, exposing secret projects

Stolen documents reveal a plan to de-anonymize Tor traffic, according to news reports.

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Hackers stole 7.5 terabytes of data and also defaced the company's website, according to reports. 

 Graphic by Pixabay/Illustration by CNET

Hackers have stolen documents from a contractor for Russian intelligence service FSB, according to news reports. The trove of documents revealed information about secret projects the company was working on for the agency, including one to de-anonymize Tor traffic. 

The contractor, SyTech, was breached July 13 by a group of hackers called 0v1ru$, according to CNET sister site ZDNet. They stole 7.5 terabytes of data and also defaced the company's website, ZDNet reported Saturday. 

SyTech couldn't be reached for comment. 

The hackers, who posted screenshots of SyTech's servers on Twitter, also shared the data with another hacking group, Digital Revolution. That group then shared more of the stolen information on Twitter on Thursday and with the media in Russia, ZDNet reported. Digital Revolution allegedly breached FSB contractor Quantum last year.

Among the internal projects that the Russian media reported on were one to de-anonymize Tor browser users and one to collect data on Facebook and LinkedIn users, according to Forbes. BBC Russia said it's possibly "the largest data leak in the history of Russian intelligence services," Forbes reported.

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