Breach exposes thousands of Idaho National Laboratory employees

Attackers may have taken sensitive details of over 45,000 of the critical US nuclear facility’s employees and their dependents.

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), a major US security lab, sent out breach notification letters to individuals who may have been impacted by the November 20th cyberattack. According to the lab, attackers penetrated an off-site data center that stored data on “INL employees, former employees, spouses, and dependents.”

The letter reiterated that INL’s internal networks, or databases used by employees and lab customers, were not impacted by the attack. However, the attack on the critical US nuclear facility prompted an investigation involving the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

“We can confirm that multiple forms of sensitive personally identifiable information (PII), including names, Social Security numbers, salary information, and banking details, were exposed for many individuals,” reads the INL’s letter.

However, the lab added that some individuals had only their names and dates of birth exposed. Meanwhile, the exposed payroll data covers employees, former employees, and retirees up until June 1st, 2023.

Information that INL submitted to the Maine Attorney General reveals that 45,047 individuals were exposed in the cyberattack. The lab said that it will provide all impacted persons with complimentary identity protection services.

INL has been researching nuclear power since the 1940s and has been one of the critical laboratories to test the impact and use of nuclear reactors. INL also studies energy applications for vehicles and spacecraft. The laboratory employs over 5,300 staff.

As Cybernews has previously reported, politically motivated threat actors SiegedSec have taken credit for the breach. The same attacker group has also targeted Israeli airline Israir and NATO’s Communities of Interest (COI) Cooperation Portal, used to share unclassified information between departments and the 31 nation-states that make up the military alliance.