The nuclear research hub Idaho National Laboratory (INL) confirmed that it fell victim to a data breach on Tuesday. SiegedSec, a group of self-proclaimed “gay furry hackers,” took responsibility for the attack and claimed they accessed sensitive employee data like social security numbers, home addresses and more.
“We’re willing to make a deal with INL. If they research creating irl catgirls we will take down this post,” SiegedSec wrote in a post announcing the leak on Monday.
The hacktivist group SiegedSec conducted a high profile attack on NATO last month, leaking internal documents as a retaliation against those countries for their attacks on human rights. The group commonly attacks government and affiliated organizations for political reasons, like targeting state governments for passing anti-trans legislation earlier this year.
A spokesperson confirmed the breach to Engadget on Wednesday. “On Monday, Nov. 20, Idaho National Laboratory determined that it was the target of a cybersecurity data breach in a federally approved vendor system outside the lab that supports INL cloud Human Resources services. INL has taken immediate action to protect employee data,” an INL spokesperson said. The lab said it has reached out to authorities for help on how to proceed as it determines how to handle the breach.
INL works as a Department of Energy affiliate researching nuclear reactors, among other projects like sustainable energy. It employs more than 5,000 people.
Honestly I think the thing you need to understand about furries is that they’re just queer people with a social quirk that wanted to find a community they fit into, and for whatever reason the ability to hide the human identity and take on an entirely new identity makes that easier for them. Generally speaking they have more community than a lot of non-furry people do and I suspect a lot of people harbour some jealousy about that and a resentment because they’re too afraid to break social norms the way they do.
I’m not a furry myself but I have some very close communities, for a while I did not have any community though and felt sort of lost and alone. I understand it, even if I think it’s a bit odd they’re harming no one and helping each other a whole lot. The whole world could do with being a little friendlier, a little closer, and a little more willing to hug to be honest.
I think the real thing to take to heart here is that reactionaries HAAAATE furries and that hyper negative reaction they have to them doesn’t come about for no reason. They clearly feel threatened by their existence and for that reason alone I will defend them.