Data breach on DEA law enforcement system grants cyber criminals access to 16 databases

U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is investigating a potential law enforcement system data breach associated with an online harassment community that impersonates police officers.

KrebsOnSecurity journalist Brian Krebs received a tip that hackers gained unauthorized access to the esp.usdoj.gov data portal, the Law Enforcement Inquiry and Alerts (LEIA) system.

Krebs obtained the information from the administrator of the Doxbin cyberbullying community identified as “KT” with links to the LAPSUS$ hacking group.

Doxbin members post personal information online and participate in “swatting,” while LAPSUS$ was responsible for high-profile data breaches on Microsoft, NVIDIA, Okta, Samsung, and others.

Krebs reported the alleged intrusion to the DEA, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

Without clarifying the situation, the anti-drug agency responded that it takes any alleged intrusion into DEA computer systems seriously and would investigate the incident.

The informant told Krebs that the law enforcement system did not require two-factor authentication. Although the portal allows users to log in using safer methods such as Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards.

Krebs suggested that nation-state hackers could access sensitive information just like LAPSUS$ hackers. He indicated that the data breach was an eye-opener to the appalling security practices of the federal government.

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