The ransomware group REvil stole close to 1TB of legal secrets from stars in the entertainment industry, now doubling down on their initial demand – ramping it up to $42 million in cryptocurrency and throwing in US President Donald Trump to the list of data-to-be-leaked.
$42M to Not Expose Trump’s ‘Dirty Laundry’
The group has already released a 2GB trove of documents and sent the files to media outlets like Cointelegraph, which reported the news about the gang’s attack on New York law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks.
Some of the firm’s clients include Elton John, Robert DeNiro, and Madonna. Despite the massive attack, which resulted in 756GB of data on confidential contracts, personal correspondence, non- disclosure agreements, and private information being stolen, the company has refused to meet the hackers’ demands.
The group recommended to Trump to “poke a sharp stick at the guys” in order for them to pay up, then addressing voters saying that “we can let you know that after such a publication, you certainly [won’t] want to see him as president.”
The group is looking for the money to be paid in Monero, but also accepts Bitcoin for a higher fee, and has said that the data would be released in nine stages unless the company pays up. It’s unclear how Trump is linked to the law firm, as there is no confirmation that he was ever a client.
Grubman is refusing to negotiate or pay the ransom, due to worries that the hackers may release the documents even if the money is paid, as well as hacking being considered an act of terrorism by the FBI.
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