Okta Inc, an authentication service provider, said it is investigating a data breach after hackers uploaded photos of what they said was its internal corporate environment. Many organisations rely on Okta to control access to their networks and apps, and a breach at the San Francisco-based corporation may have huge ramifications.

According to Chris Hollis, the breach could have been related to an earlier incident in January. The firm detected an attempt to compromise the account of a third party customer support engineer at the time.

Hollis said: "We believe the screenshots shared online are connected to this January event. Based on our investigation, there is no evidence of ongoing malicious activity. The screenshots were posted by a group of ransom-seeking hackers known as LAPSUS$ on their Telegram channel."

According to security experts, the screenshot seemed authentic. Dan Tentler, the founder of cybersecurity consultancy Phobos Group, said he believed the security breach was real and told Okta customers to be alert.