Anonymous Hackers Steal Flight Data from US Deportation Airline GlobalX – Source:hackread.com

A hacker group claiming affiliation with Anonymous says it breached GlobalX Airlines, leaking sensitive flight and passenger data tied to controversial deportation flights

GlobalX Airlines, a US government-contractual charter airline for conducting deportation flights, has been targeted by hacktivists claiming affiliation with Anonymous. The attackers allegedly accessed sensitive information, including flight records and passenger manifests, and defaced the airline’s official website with a politically charged message, expressing opposition to the company’s role in controversial deportation processes.

The defaced webpage, reportedly, featured the legendary Guy Fawkes mask, a symbol typically associated with Anonymous. The image was accompanied by a message aimed at the former US President, referencing a “Judge’s order” and accusing GlobalX of disregarding lawful directives and their perceived “fascist plans.”

This suggests the attack was ideologically motivated, originating from hacktivists’ disapproval of the airline’s involvement in deportation from and within the United States.

Apart from the symbolic act of website defacement, the hacktivists contacted journalists, including those at 404 Media, to share a substantial amount of leaked data. This trove of information reportedly includes detailed flight logs, comprehensive passenger lists, and itinerary details spanning several months.

404 Media, after careful verification against official Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flight logs and court documents, confirmed the authenticity of data sorted into folders dated from January 19th to May 1st. This data, reportedly, contains specifics regarding flights used to deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, some of whom were actively contesting the legality of their deportation while already airborne.

According to the anonymous hacker, the breach was facilitated by the discovery of a GlobalX developer’s token, which allowed them to uncover access and secret keys for the airline’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud storage buckets, effectively granting them unauthorized entry into the company’s digital infrastructure.

The extent of their access went beyond data exfiltration and website manipulation. The hacker claimed to have sent internal messages to pilots using NAVBLUE, a flight operations tool provided by Airbus, and accessing the company’s GitHub repository, a platform used by developers for managing and sharing code.

One particularly concerning case is of Ricardo Prada Vásquez, a Venezuelan man who, as per his family, was disappeared by US immigration authorities. His name was leaked in a GlobalX flight manifest, revealing his deportation to El Salvador.

This breach comes at a time when the Trump administration’s handling of sensitive data is under increased scrutiny after the Atlantic reports on top US officials, sharing military attack plans on Signal, US-Israeli firm TeleMessage’s data breach impacting TM SGNL app, used by Trump officials, and now the leaking of passenger lists raises further concerns about the government’s data security practices.

GlobalX’s leaked data and hacktivist messages suggest a politically motivated operation to expose and disrupt the deportations. Hackread.com will promptly update you when we receive an official response from the airline and the US immigration authorities, or further details emerge regarding the breach.