Dive Brief:

• A hacking group dubbed the Shadow Brokers claims to have stolen hacking tools that belong to the National Security Agency, CSO Online reports.
• The group was auctioning the tools over the Internet over the weekend.
• The hackers claim to have sample files, and some security researchers told CSO Online that those files appear legitimate.  

Dive Insight:

The files were allegedly stolen from the Equation Group, a cyberespionage team that may have links to the NSA. The NSA has not confirmed any connections to the group.

Nicholas Weaver, a security researcher at the International Computer Science Institute, said in an email to CSO Online that sample files obtained appear to be “a large amount of NSA infrastructure for controlling routers and firewalls, including implants, exploits, and other tools.”

However, this does not mean the NSA has been hacked. The NSA did not respond for comment Monday.