DC police suffer ‘massive’ information leak after ransomware attack Cybercrime News

The expert says the “most important ransomware incident to date” has escaped because of the threat to Washington DC officers.

The U.S. capital’s police department has had a massive internal leak of information after refusing to respond to blackmail demands from the Russian-speaking ransomware union. Experts say it is the most notorious ransomware attack ever hit by a U.S. police department.

The gang, known as the Babuk group, released thousands of people in Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department sensitive documents on the dark web on Thursday.

A study by The Associated Press found hundreds of police officers’ disciplinary records and intelligence reports, including sources from other agencies, including the FBI and the Secret Service.

Ransomware attacks they have reached epidemic levels because foreign criminal groups are paralyzing computer networks in state and local governments, police departments, hospitals, and private companies. They require large payments to decrypt stolen data or prevent network filtering.

It was shut down by a cyber attack last week Colonial Pipeline, the nation’s largest fuel pipeline, encouraging the purchase of a gas station and panic in some parts of the southeast.

Brett Callow, a threat analyst and ransomware expert at the security company Emsisoft, said police escapes were “the most important ransomware incidents to date” because of the risks to officers and civilians.

Some of the documents contained security information from other law enforcement agencies related to the inauguration of President Joe Biden, citing an “embedded source” with a militia group.

In a document, the FBI took steps to investigate two pipe bombs left at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee. revolt in the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

This includes “big data” from cell towers and is intended to examine the “purchases” of Nike shoes worn by a person of interest, the document says.

The police department did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment, but said earlier that they had stolen the personal information of some officials.

Some of this information was previously leaked, revealing the personal information of some officials taken from background checks, details of past drug use, finances and – at least in one event – past sexual abuse.

The newly released archives contain details of the disciplinary proceedings of hundreds of officials in 2004. Files often contain sensitive and embarrassing private data.

“This will cause a shock to the law enforcement community across the country,” Ted Williams, a former department official who is currently a lawyer, told the Associated Press.

He is a representative of a retiree with a previous file included in a previous leak.

Williams said the publicity of the background and disciplinary proceedings makes it difficult for officials to do their job.

“The more people know about a law enforcement officer, the more they strive to use it for their own good,” he said.

The Babuk group said this week that it wanted not to release the $ 4 million file, but only offered it $ 100,000.

Absolutely fascinating to see the negotiations between the police and Babuk ransomware attackers.

For more chat logs and transcripts, follow @NatSecGeek who covers that better than ever. pic.twitter.com/REtwLD8udK

– Ray [REDACTED] (@RayRedacted) May 13, 2021

The department has not said whether it has made an offer. Negotiations would reflect the complexity of the ransomware problem, and police will be forced to think about making payments to criminal gangs.

The FBI, which is assisting in this case, recommends ransomware payments.