Alleged MEW Kuwait data breach exposes 21,000 employee records

It’s unsettling to witness a fresh cyber threat hitting Kuwait’s critical infrastructure—this time, targeting the Ministry of Electricity & Water (MEW Kuwait).

According to Daily Dark Web, a threat actor claims to have breached MEW Kuwait’s internal systems, placing sensitive data at risk and shaking confidence in the protection of government operations.

The breach, announced on a cybercrime forum, involves the sale of a database allegedly containing personal and technical details of over 21,000 ministry employees.

What’s allegedly exposed?

According to the post from the threat actor, the compromised dataset originates from MEW Kuwait’s official domain, mew.gov.kw, and is being offered for sale at a surprisingly low price: $400. The breach is said to include the following information:

• Employee names in Arabic
• Telephone numbers
• Work locations, specifically including the Main Ministry Building
• Device information such as operating system versions and phone models (e.g., iPhone, Samsung)
• Registration statuses and precise timestamps

Potential implications

If the claims are true, the leak presents multiple risks:

• Personal Risk to Employees: Exposure of personally identifiable information (PII) could make employees targets for phishing, social engineering, or even real-world threats.
• Operational Security Threats: Details about work locations and registration data could permit bad actors to map the organisational structure and plan more sophisticated attacks, including physical threats to facilities.
• Technical Risks: Device information might be exploited to craft tailored mobile attacks or malware campaigns based on known vulnerabilities in the identified equipment and OS versions.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity & Water is essential to the nation’s daily life, running facilities that millions depend on. A successful breach could undermine not only the ministry’s operations but also public trust in critical infrastructure security across the country.