1 Million US & Global Credit Card Numbers Dumped Online By “Russian-Speaking Criminal Organization”

Here we go again – CNBC is reporting a major breach and leaking of Americans’ data in a massive online dump via a “new Russian-speaking criminal organization”. 

The credit card data of one million individuals, including Americans and account holders from other countries, was reportedly released to the Dark Web on Thursday, as first reported by CNBC’s senior Washington correspondent Eamon Javers:

CNBC has learned that one million American and global credit card numbers have been released on the Dark Web today by a new Russian-speaking criminal organization. The group, calling itself “All World Cards” offered accounts to other crooks for *free* as an introductory offer.

It comes after a series of major cybersecurity incidents over past months targeting sensitive American infrastructure – the most significant including the Solar Winds and Colonial pipeline hacks – were blamed on Russian criminal elements, with the further allegation and assumption by US officials that the Russian state is behind the intrusions.

Though little is as yet known of Thursday’s online credit card dump, the data and card numbers of one million Americans and others would constitute an unusually large breach.

“One million stolen credit cards is a large number – even for the Dark Web where large amounts of stolen credit card information have been available for sale for years,” CNBC’s Javers continued in his reporting. “Criminals will likely start using these stolen cards in coming days, so banks should see an impact soon.”

Javers posted the following screen shot to Twitter:

This analysis comes to us from CNBC consultants at the firm Q6, who obtained this English translation of the original Russian post that went up earlier today. pic.twitter.com/Pv2wZT9hob

— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) August 5, 2021

So it appears all that’s known so far is that the Dark Web post was written in Russian, which means little to nothing is actually as yet confirmed about the group or even individual behind the presumably stolen data.

Yet we can expect the global headlines to very quickly suggest Russian intelligence links, adding fuel to Washington’s recent accusations that Putin is a major offender carrying out cyber intrusions on America and its infrastructure. Biden and Putin at their June 16 Geneva bilateral summit agreed to open dialogue toward cooperating on preventing such attacks, however, Biden recently issues a dire and alarming warning.

Biden said in a speech late last month given during a visit to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) that foreign cyberattacks now run the risk of eventually leading to a “shooting war.”

“You know, we’ve seen how cyber threats, including ransomware attacks, increasingly are able to cause damage and disruption to the real world,” Biden said in the July 27 address. “I think it’s more likely we’re going to end up — well, if we end up in a war, a real shooting war with a major power, it’s going to be as a consequence of a cyber breach of great consequence.”