The Republic of Palau is advising government employees and the public to remain alert after what was described as “renewed cyber-criminal activity linked to the March 2024 ransomware attack” in which about 25,000 government files were stolen.
Jay Hunter Anson, the chief information security officer at the Ministry of Finance, said in a news release that no new 2025 data has been compromised.
He said people claiming affiliation with the hacking group DragonForce recently contacted the provider of Palau’s Digital Residency Program and attempted to extort payment using copies of older government documents.
He said the government has strengthened monitoring across networks, and citizens are advised to:
- Remain vigilant against phishing and social engineering attempts.
- Avoid clicking on unknown links or opening unexpected attachments.
- Immediately report suspicious activity to IT security teams