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Hewlett Packard Enterprise Investigates Possible Breach, Source Code Theft

A hacker claims they've accessed HPE data and were connected to some systems for days before the company took action.

 & Kate Irwin Reporter

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A hacker known as "IntelBroker" has claimed on the cybercrime forum BreachForums that they have breached Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), a US IT firm that caters to businesses and broke off from Hewlett Packard (HP) in 2015.

The hacker made a post on Jan. 16, writing: "We've been connecting to some of their services for about 2 days now." The individual also claims to have swiped source code, private GitHub repository data, certificates, and other data including some personal information, per a screenshot shared by Bleeping Computer.

"HPE became aware on January 16 of claims being made by a group called IntelBroker that it was in possession of information belonging to HPE," Clare Loxley, senior director of global communications at HPE, tells PCMag in a statement, adding: "HPE immediately activated our cyber response protocols, disabled related credentials, and launched an investigation to evaluate the validity of the claims."

Loxley noted that there is no "operational impact" to HPE at time of writing, nor has the company found any evidence that customer information has been exposed.

This latest possible HPE breach appears to be separate from a previous breach reported last year. HPE told the US Securities and Exchange Commission in January last year that a threat actor accessed its systems and took data beginning in May 2023. That incident has since been attributed to the Russian hacking group known as Midnight Blizzard or Cozy Bear.

IntelBroker has taken responsibility for other data breaches in the past and has previously targeted DC Health link, Home Depot, AMD, and other organizations. While personal data was exposed in the DC Health link and Home Depot breaches, AMD said at the time that only a "limited amount of information" relating to assembling some AMD products was swiped.

IntelBroker often uses ransomware and leaks stolen data on BreachForums, which they now manage as an administrator. While HPE describes IntelBroker as a group, a hacker claiming to be IntelBroker has said that they are a solo actor, are Serbian, and are currently living in Russia—though this has not been independently confirmed.

Unfortunately, data breaches via ransomware attacks have become increasingly common in recent years. You can check if your data has been exposed in a breach by using a site like HaveIBeenPwned or Malwarebytes' digital footprint check. If your personal info has surfaced online, you can consider using different data removal services to delete your data from the web.

About Our Expert

Kate Irwin

Kate Irwin

Reporter

I’m a reporter for PCMag covering tech news early in the morning. Prior to joining PCMag, I was a producer and reporter at Decrypt and launched its gaming vertical, GG. I have previously written for Input, Game Rant, Dot Esports, and other places, covering a range of gaming, tech, crypto, and entertainment news.

I’ve been a PC gamer since The Sims (yes, the original) in the CD-ROM days. I still think about my first-gen pink iPod mini, which, looking back, was not so mini. In 2020, I finally built my own custom Windows PC for gaming with a 3090 graphics card, but I also regularly use Mac and iOS devices. As a reporter, I’m passionate about documenting the wide world of tech and how it affects our daily lives.

My Areas of Expertise

  • Microsoft
  • Google
  • Artificial intelligence 
  • Cybersecurity
  • Video games are a big one. I specialize in shooters (Apex Legends, Fortnite, Overwatch) but I occasionally test out other genres as well, especially indie games or cozy games (The Sims series, Animal Crossing). 
  • The business and tech that powers video games
  • Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology
  • Social media platforms, including Meta’s apps, X/Twitter, Telegram, TikTok, etc.
  • Tech regulation

The Technology I Use

  • MSI gaming laptops
  • Nvidia graphics cards
  • AMD CPUs
  • MacBook Pro and Air laptops
  • An iPhone from 2019 (though I’m thinking about getting a “dumb phone” like the Light Phone)
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PlayStation 5
  • Freewrite Traveler 
  • At home: Sonos speakers (we have them all over the house), Philips Hue + Ring security products

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