São Paulo State Cyberattack: Data Breach Investigation LaunchedThe Civil Police and the Comptroller General of the state of São Paulo are investigating a cyberattack that resulted in the leakage and sale of confidential data from various state public agencies. The stolen information includes personal data of public servants, access passwords, and internal records, which were reportedly being commercialized by criminals on clandestine internet forums.
According to the investigation, hackers exploited security flaws in the servers of the São Paulo government and used viruses (malware) to take control of the systems. In addition to extracting the confidential data, the group was also negotiating and exchanging illicit access to government systems—known in cyber jargon as "shells"—with other criminals.
The evidence collected so far confirms that the leaked data is authentic, which represents a real risk to the state's information security, according to the police. Authorities emphasize that, in this case, the hacker had a data center at their disposal capable of extracting and storing large databases.
To identify those involved, the Civil Police requested judicial authorization to carry out search and seizure warrants, as well as to break the telephone and data (telematic) secrecy of the suspects. The names and targets of the operation remain under legal secrecy.