Cyber Threat Actor: Menelik

Menelik is the alias used by athreat actor whose known location is the United States of America. Publicly available information ties this alias to a single reported incident that occurred in May 2024. No other aliases, affiliations, or operational history have been disclosed in open sources. The actor’s presence is therefore defined primarily by this one documented event.

On May 17, 2024, a supplier responsible for managing digital communications for the Dutch housing organization Portaal experienced a data breach. The breach potentially exposed residents’ personal data, including names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and bank account details. Importantly, the supplier’s investigation confirmed that no passwords or other sensitive credentials were compromised. Following the investigation, the supplier stated that no resident data had actually been stolen or accessed. Portaal reported the incident to the relevant data protection authority as required by regulation. In response, the organization temporarily suspended all rent‑related email communications while it reviewed the situation. After completing its review, Portaal resumed normal email operations. Residents were advised to remain vigilant for phishing attempts that might mimic legitimate Portaal messages. Official communications were emphasized to never request passwords or bank information from recipients. Additionally, Portaal reminded residents that genuine messages would only be sent from verified domains associated with the organization. These precautions were intended to reduce the risk of follow‑on social engineering attacks stemming from the breach.