(CMR) Multiple online sources are claiming that Cayman National Bank & Trust Isle of Man branch was hacked after a known hacker released some leaked information relating to some 1,400 client accounts including 107 from the Cayman Islands. A self-described libertarian socialist “Phineas Fisher” has taken responsibility for the hack.
Hacker “Phineas Fisher“, a notorious self-described “hacktivist” and transparency collective has started publishing copies of the bank's servers, a cache of documents as well as communications among bankers. After the hack he issued a manifesto which was uploaded to the internet explaining why he decided to hack financial services companies. That manifesto, published in Spanish, included previously unpublished code which he claims was used to break into an Italian surveillance company called “Hacking Team”. Hacking Team was an elite corporation that specialized in developing malware until Phineas Fisher hacked them and published their code online. The malware developed by Hacking Team was often used to attack journalists and activists on behalf of repressive governments. The manifest includes a “political analysis” on how financials institutions serve as key enforcers for the global class structure and states that “Privacidad para los débiles, transparencia para los poderosos” (‘Privacy for the weak, transparency for the powerful’.)
Fisher has been responsible for some high profile hacks and has shared a step-by-step video on how to take advantage of certain vulnerabilities to break into a Spanish police network in Barcelona, Spain in 2016.
The data was released to Unicorn Riot including 780 from Isle of Man, 272 from Cyprus, 153 from the UK, 107 from the Cayman Islands, 51 from the British Virgin Islands, 12 from the Seychelles, 11 from the United States, 7 from Belize, 7 from Ireland, and a small number from other jurisdictions involved in offshore banking including Gibraltar, Jersey, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Guernsey, Malta, and Mauritius.
According to Wikipedia Unicorn Riot is a decentralized, non-profit left-wing media collective that started in 2015. It operates in several US cities including Boston, Denver, Minneapolis and Philadelphia. They live stream political protests and protests and are funded by viewers.
UPDATE – November 18, 2019
Cayman National has confirmed the hacking and issued the following statement:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
