Hackers who stole secret files from celebrity lawyer release trove of Lady Gaga documents as they raise their ransom demand to $42 million and threaten to publish details about Donald Trump next
The hackers who targeted a top-flight entertainment law firm have released documents purporting to pertain to Lady Gaga, after doubling their ransom request to $42 million.
Notorious hacker group 'REvil', allegedly from Eastern Europe, are said to have stolen private emails, contracts and personal details from New York-based entertainment law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks.
Now, after their ransom demands were rebuffed, the hackers have published on their dark web site a 2.4-gigabyte folder including legal work the law firm did for Lady Gaga.
The files appear to be mostly standard music industry documents and tedious paperwork.
The documents include contracts sent to producers, collaborators, and members of her touring ensemble, promotional agreements, expense sheets, confidentiality agreement forms, performer agreements, reimbursement forms for the artist Jeff Koons, and some promotional photos.
The firm also represents stars including Bruce Springsteen, Lizzo and Madonna.
The hackers also claim to have 'dirty laundry' on Donald Trump, even though the President has never been a client of the firm, a source said.
According to Page Six, REvil posted a message on Thursday which said: 'The ransom is now $42,000,000 … The next person we’ll be publishing is Donald Trump. There’s an election going on, and we found a ton of dirty laundry on time.'
They added: 'Mr Trump, if you want to stay president, poke a sharp stick at the guys, otherwise you may forget this ambition forever.
'And to you voters, we can let you know that after such a publication, you certainly don’t want to see him as president … The deadline is one week.'
The group claims to have obtained 767 gigabytes of information from the firm, including contracts, non-disclosure agreements, private contact information and private correspondence.
They have also encrypted back-ups and will only provide a means to access them if the company pays out.
A source told Page Six that one of the firm's founders attorney Allen Grubman will not 'negotiate with terrorists'.
The groups message told Grubman 'we will destroy your company down to the ground' if the money is not paid.
The incident is evidently a ransomware attack, in which cybercriminals use the threat of releasing the stolen data as leverage to extort payment.
According to a source, Grubman, has 'sensitive details on everything - work contracts, confidential settlements and endorsement deals for the biggest stars in New York and Hollywood.'
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