Threat Actor Claims Possession of 16TB NATO Cosmic Top Secret Documents
Published on March 7, 2025
- A recent post on a hacking dark web forum claimed NATO suffered a data breach.
- The announcement says cybercriminals accessed critically sensitive information.
- Allegedly exfiltrated Cosmic Top Secret documents are for sale at the moment.
A threat actor stated they had acquired 16 terabytes (TB) of highly classified North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Cosmic Top Secret (CTS) documents. A cyber threat actor known as "NATODATAX" has made these alarming claims on a dark web forum they only joined this month.
COSMIC is an acronym for "Control of Secret Material in an International Command. This level of sensitive information, if authentic, could pose a significant risk to NATO security and operations since CTS is the highest classification level within NATO’s security structure.Â
Information within this category is strictly protected due to its potential to cause extreme damage to NATO and its member nations if disclosed. Access is heavily restricted, requiring specific security clearance and an explicit need-to-know basis.
The individual or group behind the name "NATODATAX" claims to possess these CTS documents, though the authenticity of the breach has not been independently verified at this time.Â
While their methods of obtaining the data or their intentions remain undisclosed, such claims highlight ongoing vulnerabilities in cybersecurity systems and the increasing sophistication of threat actors targeting high-value intelligence.
Should the claims prove true, the ramifications could be severe for NATO and its allies. A breach of this magnitude could compromise sensitive operations, expose sources and methods, and potentially lead to geopolitical instability, as international organizations and governments are continuously targeted by cyber espionage and data theft.
Currently, NATO has not issued an official statement confirming or denying the validity of the claims.
Late last year, the U.S. Treasury Department acknowledged a breach by unidentified Chinese state-sponsored threat actors who employed a compromised privileged access management vendor BeyondTrust’s Remote Support SaaS instances.
Related
Most Popular
Most Popular