Ghost hackers: the cybersecurity mystery that nobody has solved
Key takeaways
- In the long history of hacking, there have been numerous data breaches that, years or even decades later, remain unsolved.
- But prolific hacking groups do get caught.
- Still, some of the most fascinating cases in cybersecurity history remain wide open — no culprits, no answers, and in some cases, not even a clear motive.
In the long history of hacking, there have been numerous data breaches that, years or even decades later, remain unsolved. Countless hackers and hacking groups behind them have never been unmasked.
But prolific hacking groups do get caught. This is true whether they re cybercriminals such as LAPSUS$, a notorious extortion gang that compromised companies including Microsoft and Nvidia, who have had multiple members arrested, or sophisticated government hacking groups from Russia and China, whose members have been named, indicted, and placed on most-wanted lists.
Still, some of the most fascinating cases in cybersecurity history remain wide open — no culprits, no answers, and in some cases, not even a clear motive. We decided to revisit several of them in a series of articles, starting with one of the strangest episodes in the history of intelligence leaks.