Ransomware crooks threaten to ID informants if cops don’t pay up The FBI is investigating claim hackers obtained 250GB of police department data. DAN GOODIN - 4/28/2021, 7:04 AM Ransomware operators have delivered a stunning ultimatum to Washington, DC’s Metropolitan Police Department: pay them $50 million or they’ll leak the identities of confidential informants to street gangs. Babuk, as the group calls itself, said on Monday that it had obtained 250GB of sensitive data after hacking the MPD network. The group’s site on the darkweb has posted dozens of images of what appear to be sensitive MPD documents. One screenshot shows a Windows directory titled Disciplinary Files. Each of the 28 files shown lists a name. A check of four of the names shows they all belong to MPD officers. Enlarge Other images appeared to show persons-of-interest names and photos, a screenshot of a folder named Gang Database, chief’s reports, lists of arrests, and a document listing the name and address of a confidential informant. ... ctd: https://arstechnica.com/information...lice-threatens-safety-of-cops-and-informants/ This ransomware crap is getting way out of hand. Getting the hell off of Windows would be one good move to mitigate the threat, and better IT security across companies and government agencies is obviously called for also.
Most of these "attacks" are coming from underemployed people in Russia. There's a lot of computer talent over there, but not a lot of good job opportunities. And the winters are long, so it's common for Russians to spend a lot of time indoors so there is a big computer culture. This is just an idea, but maybe if organisations want to keep information on computers secure they should not have these computers be connected to the world internet?
