(ANSA) - ROME, APRIL 28 - In the US a hacker gang has threatened to publish sensitive data, including names of informants or details of ongoing operations, obtained with an attack on the Washington police. The group, which goes by the name Babuk Locker, claims to have downloaded 250 Gigabytes of materials, and to disclose them if a ransom is not paid.
The attack, reports the govinfosecurity.com website, was confirmed by the Department, which however did not disclose further details on the material that would be in the possession of the hackers.
"We became aware of unauthorized access - a spokesperson said on the site -. We are determining the real impact of the attack, and we are investigating the matter together with the FBI".
Data stolen by the Washington Police Department, Cybersecurity firm FireEye reveals, began appearing on the internet Monday, April 26, making it the third police department in the United States to be hit by cybercriminals in six weeks. "Combining data theft and ransomware attacks has quickly become an increasingly popular tactic over the past year," said KimberlyGoody, Senior Manager Cybercrime, Mandiant Threat Intelligence of the company. shaming ", created specifically for this purpose, has become the target for hackers trying to force victims to pay sums of money.the Washington Police Department is not the first to appear on a shaming ransomware site. However, as the headquarters are the capital of the United States, this will almost certainly generate interest from a wider audience, including other states, depending on the data included in the stolen information. "
Babuk, explains the expert, is a group known since January 2021. "The announcements suggest that its actors are focused on high-value goals with annual revenues exceeding 800 million dollars". (HANDLE).
