Hackers have attacked law firm, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks and have issued threats to the law firm to pay $21 million in exchange for 756 GB of stolen data. The law firm, which has since confirmed they will not pay any ransom, represents Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Drake, the Weeknd, U2, Mariah Carey, and Nicki Minaj, as well as celebrities, Robert De Niro and LeBron James. This week the law firm admitted that it had been victimized by cyberattack from an unnamed hacker group using ransomware software called “REvil.”
Grubman hired cyber-extortion specialists to combat the ransomware software, and in response, on Thursday the hackers leaked 2.4 gigs of material related to the firm’s work with Lady Gaga.The batch of files reportedly includes Gaga’s contracts with producers, performers in her live show, and other collaborators, confidentiality agreements, reimbursement forms for none other than Jeff Koons, and much more.
The hackers wrote, “It seems that Grubmans doesn’t care about their clients or it was a mistake to hire a recovery company to help in the negotiations.” The hackers have now raised their ransom fee to $42 million and are threatening to do a Donald Trump info dump next. They claim to have “dirty laundry” on the president and wrote, “Mr. Trump, if you want to stay president, poke a sharp stick at the guys, otherwise you may forget this ambition forever. And to you voters, we can let you know that after such a publication, you certainly don’t want to see him as president… The deadline is one week.”
Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks webpage is effectively down, displaying only its logo, as the firm has entered high-security mode. They have issued full statement, stating, “Our elections, our government and our personal information are under escalating attacks by foreign cybercriminals. Law firms are not immune from this malicious activity. 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. 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.”
The statement continues, “The leaking of our clients’ documents is a despicable and illegal attack by these foreign cyberterrorists who make their living attempting to extort high-profile U.S. companies, government entities, entertainers, politicians, and others. Previously, the United States Department of Defense, HBO, Goldman Sachs, as well as numerous state and local governments have been victims of similar cybercriminal attacks.
We have been informed by the experts and the FBI that negotiating with or paying ransom to terrorists is a violation of federal criminal law. Even when enormous ransoms have been paid, the criminals often leak the documents anyway.
We are grateful to our clients for their overwhelming support and for recognizing that nobody is safe from cyberterrorism today. We continue to represent our clients with the utmost professionalism worthy of their elite stature, exercising the quality, integrity, and excellence that have made us the number-one entertainment and media law firm in the world.”
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