The theft of The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was attributed to the hacktivist organisation SiegedSec, which also released stolen HR data. The hacktivist collective declared on BreachForums and its Telegram Channel that it has obtained access to hundreds of thousands of users', workers', and public data at Idaho National Laboratory. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has now acknowledged the data leak and stated that around 45,000 people were affected by the security problem. For a full year, Idaho National Laboratory is providing free access to Experian IdentityWorksSM to all who are affected.

The Idaho National Laboratory reported a data breach on December 12, 2023, involving a cyber attack that occurred on November 19, 2023. The breach affected 45,047 individuals, exposing sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) including Social Security numbers. Incident response actions included offering 12 months of identity theft protection services through Experian.

Idaho National Laboratory Accelerates Zero Trust Adoption After APT41 Breach In 2020, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) faced a cyber intrusion linked to APT41, an advanced persistent threat group with ties to China, prompting a rapid overhaul of its security architecture. The breach, detected within 24 hours, exposed vulnerabilities in INL’s internet-facing systems, including disabled security tools and outdated cyber hygiene practices. Robert Roser, INL’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), revealed details of the incident during the Zscaler Public Sector Summit, noting that the lab disconnected its DMZ from the internet within 36 hours to contain the threat. The attack served as a catalyst for INL’s shift to a zero trust security model, prioritizing the elimination of traditional VPNs in favor of cloud-delivered security services. By late 2020, INL deployed Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) and Zscaler Private Access (ZPA), replacing its legacy VPN with a more secure, user-friendly framework. The lab has since expanded its zero trust posture, integrating AI-driven threat detection and strengthening identity-based access controls to limit data exposure such as restricting financial data to authorized personnel only. Zscaler’s Chief Security Officer, Deepen Desai, emphasized the need for organizations to combine AI and zero trust to counter evolving threats, noting that adversaries are already leveraging AI in attacks. INL continues to refine its security strategy, focusing on role-based access, data tagging, and AI-enhanced defenses to reduce attack surfaces.