Cybercrime gangs clash as ShinyHunters hijacks rival cl0p’s dark-web site

On Friday, the notorious extortion outfit ShinyHunters claimed to have infiltrated and taken over the dark-web portal of rival cybercrime gang cl0p, posting a notice that the domain had been seized. The takeover was made possible by a vulnerability in cl0p’s software, which ShinyHunters exploited to gain extensive control over the infrastructure. Security analysts said the open feud is unusual in the underground cybercrime world.

The conflict originates from a disagreement over a zero-day exploit targeting Oracle’s E-Business Suite, which cl0p allegedly used to pilfer data from more than 100 firms, while ShinyHunters asserts it discovered the flaw first. Both groups have a history of large-scale data theft, with cl0p recently compromising dozens of global companies and ShinyHunters previously targeting Rockstar Games and the Canvas education platform.

The incident highlights the growing boldness of cybercriminals in publicly battling each other. Researchers could not independently verify all claims made by ShinyHunters.