Data and sensitive credentials belonging to British government officials, diplomats, and healthcare workers have been leaked onto the darknet following a major cyberattack.

The stolen data is being offered for sale on darknet forums for up to £44,000 (approximately $58,000), according to post-attack analysis reports obtained by The Telegraph.

The cyberattack, dubbed “FortiBleed,” has compromised a vast database of email addresses and corresponding passwords. The breach has left networks housing sensitive British government information exposed to cybercriminals and data buyers.

Among the compromised credentials are those of information technology specialists stationed at the British embassies in Thailand and Mauritius. The leak also includes the user data of local government employees, including personnel from the Derbyshire County Council and the Waltham Forest London Borough Council.

According to technical details reported, the vulnerability stems from more than 80,000 firewalls manufactured by Fortinet, a prominent cybersecurity firm and defense contractor providing services to various public institutions.

The datasets currently brokered on the darknet reportedly contain access credentials capable of penetrating networks run by the country’s critical infrastructure providers. Affected institutions include the National Health Service (NHS), domestic energy providers, and key pharmaceutical supply chains across the United Kingdom.

“Healthcare organizations, pharmacies, laboratories, and their suppliers are heavily reliant on these types of products that were made vulnerable in the FortiBleed attack,” said Saif Abed, a cybersecurity expert and former NHS doctor. “This leak should be seen as the first step in launching potentially devastating ransomware attacks that could compromise patient safety nationwide.”

Vladimir Dyachenko, another cybersecurity expert tracking the breach, warned that the operation remains active.

Dyachenko explained that cybercriminals are utilizing valid credentials harvested from previous data leaks to turn the compromised devices into new centers for ongoing data collection.

The revelation comes amid broader concern over cybersecurity and data preservation in the British public sector.

On June 10, Sky News reported that the Ministry of Defence lost 545 laptops and tablets, alongside 744 mobile phones, between January and March 2024. According to information provided by the ministry to the broadcaster, none of the missing devices have been recovered.

Additionally, Anne Keast-Butler, the director of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), warned during the intelligence agency’s inaugural annual conference on May 27 that the UK has entered a critical period due to emerging technological threats from hostile states.

Keast-Butler emphasized that the window of opportunity for the UK and its allies to maintain leadership in the global technology race is rapidly narrowing.

In a separate development, the Daily Mail reported that Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform UK party, claimed he was certain foreign actors had hacked his phone to extract details regarding a £5 million donation he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

However, Ciaran Martin, the former head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), stated that Farage’s hacking claims were entirely unsubstantiated.

Germany is seeking to strengthen ties with the Mercosur trade bloc and secure greater access to Argentina’s natural resources as part of an effort to reduce its economic dependence on the United States and China.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul attended the Mercosur summit in Paraguay on Tuesday before traveling to Argentina on Wednesday for talks aimed at expanding German companies’ access to the country’s natural resources, including lithium.

On Thursday, July 3, Wadephul continued his regional tour in Brazil, Mercosur’s largest economy.

Berlin hopes to increase exports to the South American bloc as it seeks to reduce its reliance on exports to the United States.

At the same time, the Trump administration is working to tighten its influence over Latin America. To that end, it is backing right-wing electoral candidates, including Flávio Bolsonaro in Brazil.

Washington is also expanding its military presence in the region under the stated objective of combating drug cartels and criminal gangs.

According to German Foreign Policy, Wadephul visited Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil this week. While in Paraguay, he also met Chilean President José Antonio Kast and Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna.

The main focus of his trip was strengthening relations with Mercosur, the South American trade bloc with which the European Union signed a free trade agreement after more than 25 years of negotiations.

Although the European Parliament suspended the agreement on January 21 for legal review, the European Commission decided to provisionally apply its trade provisions from May 1.

On Tuesday, Wadephul attended the Mercosur summit in Asunción, Paraguay, where several disagreements among member states became apparent.

One unresolved issue is how export quotas for agricultural products allocated to Mercosur under the EU free trade agreement should be distributed among member countries.

Tensions have also emerged after Argentina signed a bilateral free trade agreement with the United States in February. The move is viewed as conflicting with Mercosur’s founding principles and risks undermining the bloc’s cohesion.

For Germany and the EU, Mercosur is regarded as a partial alternative to exports destined for the US market, making relations with the bloc strategically important.

Alongside expanding trade, another key objective is broadening Germany’s access to critical raw materials.

Argentina possesses some of the world’s largest lithium reserves. On Wednesday, Wadephul signed a memorandum of understanding intended to facilitate German companies’ access to the country’s raw material resources.

Australia is currently the largest investor in Argentina’s lithium sector, with Australian companies operating alongside firms from the US and the UK. China also maintains a significant presence in Argentina’s lithium industry.

Germany is attempting to differentiate itself from its competitors by pledging to help develop processing capacity within Argentina, a commitment Wadephul reiterated on Wednesday.

Under President Javier Milei, Argentina’s economy has shifted increasingly toward raw material exports, while its industrial sector has come under mounting pressure.

Expanding domestic processing of those resources could help alleviate some of those challenges. Representatives of Germany’s commodities industry accompanied Wadephul during the visit.

Germany’s new government has replaced the Bürgergeld citizens’ income benefit with a new basic income support scheme as part of a broader overhaul of the country’s welfare system.

The Bürgergeld benefit had been in force since 2023, replacing the previous Unemployment Benefit II. According to junge Welt (jW), the latest changes effectively mark the return of the “Hartz IV regime” introduced under former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in 2005.

Federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas of the SPD on Wednesday described the reforms as “a strong signal against the abuse of social benefits.”

Steffen Kampeter, head of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, backed the move and called for the “consistent enforcement of stricter cooperation obligations.”

Officials at Bas’s ministry are currently drafting legislation governing how the new basic income support will be calculated. The process is referred to as the “standard needs assessment.”

The shift from Bürgergeld to the new basic income support represents more than a change in name. The central principle is that securing employment takes priority. If low-paid jobs are available and deemed “reasonable,” job seekers registered with employment agencies will be required to accept them. Failure to do so will result in benefit reductions.

According to the Federal Employment Agency (BA), the reform’s primary objective remains placing people into long-term employment, while vocational training and continuing education are given secondary importance.

Bas has likewise described the policy as one that “promotes employment rather than benefit dependency,” adding: “Everyone who is able to work must make an effort to find a job.”

According to a statement published on Wednesday by the organization Sanktionsfrei, that characterization does not reflect reality. Of the roughly 5.5 million people receiving basic income support, nearly two million are children and young people. At least 800,000 recipients are already working but must supplement their income because of low wages.

In addition, more than one million benefit recipients are unable to participate in the labor market because they care for relatives, look after children, are in education or are ill.

The share of recipients who “completely refuse” to seek work is negligible. Even the Federal Employment Agency’s Institute for Employment Research identified only around 100 such cases last year.

The federal government also plans to reduce housing benefits. Joachim Rock, managing director of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband, said on Wednesday that the move would push recipients of both basic income support and housing assistance further into poverty.

Older people and families would be particularly affected. At the same time, the governing coalition has pledged to eliminate homelessness by 2030.

Ines Schwerdtner, co-chair of Germany’s Left Party, argues that abolishing the standard benefit entirely would violate fundamental rights and is considering filing a constitutional complaint against the reforms with the Federal Constitutional Court.