As we previously discussed about the ransomware attack faced by a renowned NYC law firm – Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, there’s more updates about the incident.
Approximately 1TB of data has been reported stolen from the law firm’s system and the ransomware demand has been reported to $42M in Bitcoin or U.S. President Donald Trump’s secrets might be at risk of exposure.
The ransomware group has released almost 2GB of legal documents related to Lady Gaga, making Cointelegraph to first break the news about the cyber attack encountered by the New York law firm.
Robert DeNiro and Madonna being few of the many on the list of celebrity clients, the NYC law firm became a prime target for ransomware perhaps compromising client data including phone numbers, confidential contracts and email addresses. Whether the client’s financial information was disclosed is currently undetermined.
Sodinokibi, the REvil ransomware group behind the incident, are using President Donald Trump’s secrets as leverage to double up the ransomware amount. As reported by Cointelegraph, is the statement by the ransomware group announced on May 14th – “The next person we’ll be publishing is Donald Trump. There’s an election going on, and we found a ton of dirty laundry on time.”
According to the ransomware group, the threat against the President may disclose unwanted information that may hurt his chances of winning the upcoming elections. Here’s what they precisely said, “…we can let you know that after such a publication, you certainly [won’t] want to see him as president.”
Considering what is at stake, it may be in the best interest of the U.S. Government to tighten up the cyberfront and crack down on the ransomware group responsible for this.
As per the research, President Donald Trump has NEVER made it to the targeted law firm’s client list, perhaps it’s unclear what his relation with NYC law firm is. Regardless, the threat reveals that the stolen data will be subject to a slow release, particularly in nine stages until the demands are met.
What the Law Firm Has to Say About This
Bottomline, Grubman refuses to negotiate with hackers, reported New York Post.
No matter the threats, the NYC law firm is not ready to bow down to the demands of the ransomware group. He is convinced that hackers will release the stolen information even after the firm pays them.
FBI is actively involved and considers this as an act of terrorism, therefore, the United States historically refuses to negotiate with the terrorists.
The firm expresses their gratitude towards their clients and their continued patience ad trust in Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks.
This decision may be a success or failure, we will eventually find out. Stay tuned for more updates on the story on DelcomInfotech.
