A cybercriminal gang that hacked a major entertainment law firm claims it will release information on President Donald Trump if it doesn’t receive $42 million in ransom.
The group, a known criminal enterprise, didn’t offer any proof it had information compromising to Trump.
It did, sed, release a large set of stolen files from the law firm, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks.
The law firm said that Trump is not a client and has never been.
A spokesperson for the firm said it wasn’t clear which of its clients have been compromised.
The group uses ransomware to break into a victim’s networks and encrypt them, demanding a fee to unlock them.
If the victim doesn’t pay up, the group slowly leaks out unencrypted versions of files stolen from those networks to prompt payment.
The criminal group posted on its blog a threat to publish files related to Trump. “The next person we’ll be publishing is Donald Trump. There’s an election race going on, and we found a ton of dirty laundry on time,"
The group wrote, giving a one-week deadline. “And to you voters, we can let you know that after such a publication, you certainly don’t want to see him as president."
Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sacks said in a statement Friday that law firms have not been immune to escalating attacks by foreign cybercriminals.
“Despite our substantial investment in state-of-the-art technology security, foreign cyberterrorists have hacked into our network and are demanding $42 million as ransom,” it said.
“We are working directly with federal law enforcement and continue to work around the clock with the world’s leading experts to address this situation.”
Source: thecybersecurityhub.com
