Cyber attack on DC police calls for a greater look into online security
Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson reports from D.C. to discuss the hackers who have requested a ransom in return for private data security
The ransomware attack on Washington, D.C.,’s Metropolitan Police Department is much more extensive than was originally reported, Fox News has learned.
The number of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers whose personal and personnel information has been released is much higher than the 20 employees who were originally reported to have been affected.
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"Several hundred" MPD officers and civilian members have now had their information stolen and many of it released publicly by the Russian-speaking cyber gang Babuk, Fox News has learned.
Sources say the department has not paid a ransom. On Tuesday, the gang released screenshots that appear to be negotiations with the department. They show the gang asked for $4 million and received a counteroffer of $100,000. The authenticity of the screenshots could not be independently confirmed.
WChief of the Metropolitan Police Department Robert Contee speaks during a a press briefing about the security incident at the U.S. Capitol on April 2, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) told Fox News on Wednesday morning that 20 members of the department had their information "released through the access obtained from MPD’s network by unauthorized parties." The department did not specify what kind of information was accessed. Additionally, Chief Robert Contee emailed department employees last week with instructions on how to sign up for a credit monitoring service.
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Late last month, the group said it had hacked into the network of the city’s police department and threatened to leak the identities of confidential informants unless an unspecified ransom was paid.
A day after the initial threat was posted, the gang tried to spur payment by leaking personal information of some police officers taken from background checks, including details of officers’ past drug use and finances, among other things.
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Then late Monday, the Babuk group wrote on its website that it would release "all the data" it stole from the Washington police department if it did not "raise the price."
"The negotiations reached a dead end, the amount we were offered does not suit us," the group said.
Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this report, as well as The Associated Press.
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