Hackers are demanding a ransom of $42 million (about Rs. 317 crores) by New York-based celebrity and entertainment law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, with a week-long deadline and looming threat of its clients' Private details published online Openly.
The hacking team"REvil" a.k.a."Sodinokibi", that will be behind the assault according to cybersecurity company Emsisoft, said to have information on the likes of Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Bruce Springsteen, Jessica Simpson, Idina Menzel, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Ella Mai, Cam Newton, Bette Midler, Run DMC, and Facebook.
On May 8, the hackers posted signs of the stolen info -- featuring a screenshot of Madonna's contract for its 2019-20"Madame X" tour -- on the darkened net, per Emsisoft. Said information is supposedly 756GB in size, also includes telephone numbers, email addresses, entertainment contracts, non-disclosure agreements, and"personal correspondence". On May 11, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks verified that it had endured a breach, notified its clients and staff, and was operating with"specialists". This was followed by the $21 million ransom demand on May 12.
However, the law firm is not able to negotiate with all the hackers, since the FBI is currently investigating the situation. Emsisoft had said that the hackers could publish the information in instalments if payment wasn't made, and that is precisely what happened. On May 13, the hackers supposedly tried to discuss 1GB of documents to cloud storage service Mega. But their account was terminated by Mega due to a breach of terms of support. According to Variety, in an online article, the hackers taunted the law firm to hiring ransomware remediation firm Coveware, calling it"a mistake to hire a recovery business in the negotiations."
Trump hasn't been a client of Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, so the connection is not clear.
If"REvil" /"Sodinokibi" is truly behind the attack Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, then the latter combines a list of targets such as the UK-based currency Travelex and Florida-based management consulting Brooks International amongst others. Travelex paid $2.3 million (roughly Rs. 17.35 crores) in bitcoin to hackers who had obtained over its network, according to the Wall Street Journal in April.
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