Concerns are rising in the cybersecurity space after a hacking group claimed it had breached a major global brand and planned to make stolen information public within days.
A ransomware group calling itself WorldLeaks has allegedly claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on global sportswear giant Nike. The group has said it plans to release the stolen data this Saturday at 6 p.m. The claim reportedly appeared on the group’s leak site, where it usually lists victims and announces upcoming data disclosures.
So far, there is no public technical report confirming the breach. Nike has also not issued a detailed statement on the alleged incident. The exact nature and volume of the data involved remain unclear, though WorldLeaks has suggested that a large amount of internal information was exfiltrated.
Possible scale of the breach
Based on previous activity linked to WorldLeaks, cybersecurity analysts believe the group is known for stealing very large data sets, sometimes running into several terabytes. In earlier cases, similar attacks have typically involved access gained through compromised VPN or remote access accounts, exploited vulnerabilities in internet-facing systems, or phishing attacks targeting employees or partners.
Once access is obtained, ransomware groups often move across internal systems, gather sensitive files, compress them, and transfer them to external servers before issuing extortion demands. Even without confirmed file encryption, the theft of data alone can be used as leverage against the victim.
While the contents of the alleged Nike data have not been confirmed, the information at risk could include internal company documents, strategy files, customer or partner details, email addresses, phone numbers, and commercial records. There is also the possibility of human resources data, such as internal employee records.
If such data is released publicly, it could expose employees, customers, suppliers, and partners to phishing attacks, fraud attempts, and the loss of confidentiality around sensitive business projects or contracts.
If WorldLeaks proceeds with its stated plan on Saturday, incident response teams and threat intelligence analysts are expected to review the leaked material to verify its authenticity, assess the scale of the exposure, and evaluate potential risks to individuals and organisations linked to Nike.
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