MoD probes claims Russian hackers stole files on bases

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) is investigating claims that Russian hackers stole hundreds of sensitive military documents and published them on the dark web.

The Mail on Sunday first reported that the files on the dark web, an internet space accessible only with certain software, contained details of eight RAF and Royal Navy bases, as well as the names and emails of Ministry of Defense staff.

Maintenance and construction contractor Dodd Group has confirmed it has been subject to a ransomware incident and takes the allegations “extremely seriously”.

The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that it was “actively investigating allegations that MoD-related information was published on the dark web”.

“To protect sensitive operational information, we will not comment further on the details,” the statement said.

Post reported on Sunday The documents contain information on a number of sensitive RAF and Navy bases, including RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, where the US Air Force’s F-35 jets are based.

A Dodd Group spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Dodd Group recently experienced a ransomware incident in which an unauthorized third party gained temporary access to some of our internal systems.

“We took immediate steps to contain the incident, quickly securing our systems and engaging a specialist IT forensics firm to investigate what happened.

“We take these allegations extremely seriously and are working hard to verify it.”

The attacks follow a series of high-profile data breaches at the Department of Defense.

In August, it was revealed that the personal data of thousands of Afghans brought to safety in the UK had been compromised following an attack. MoD subcontractor suffers data breach.

A person’s personal information in the past year unknown number of UK military personnel serving Accessed due to a significant data breach.