- A hacker group known as Dark Overlord has stolen files relating to 9/11
- They have threatened to sell or release the files if a bitcoin ransom isn’t paid
2018 certainly ended on an eventful note. On the 31st of December, a hacker group announced that they had gotten access to the private files of a law firm handling insurance with regards to the 9/11 attacks.
They also promised to release the files to the public if their demands were not met.
This is not the first incident regarding the group, known as the Dark Overlord. They had previously targeted a number of establishments such as a Netflix studio and a medical center.
Details on the case
According to the group’s post on Pastebin, some of the insurers and Law firms that they have hacked include Hiscox Syndicates Ltd, Lloyds of London, and Silverstein Properties.
“Hiscox Syndicates Ltd and Lloyds of London are some of the biggest insurers on the planet insuring everything from the smallest policies to some of the largest policies on the planet, and who even insured structures such as the World Trade Centers,” the announcement reads.
They have stated that they will “providing many answers about 9/11 conspiracies through our 18.000 secret documents leak.”
The Hiscox Group has confirmed that the hack that took place successfully targeted a law firm that advised them and that documents relating to 9/11 were indeed taken.
“The law firm’s systems are not connected to Hiscox’s IT infrastructure and Hiscox’s own systems were unaffected by this incident. One of the cases the law firm handled for Hiscox and other insurers related to litigation arising from the events of 9/11, and we believe that information relating to this was stolen during that breach,” the spokesperson said.
Extortion
The group has already published a number of documents including letters and emails that make mention of a number of law firms as well as the Transport Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Aviation Administration.
An official ransom note has also been published along with a link to 10 GB of stolen documents.
For now, the documents are encrypted but the hackers have said that they will release the decryption keys periodically unless their ransom is paid.
The ransom In question is to be paid in Bitcoin and there are also threats to sell the information on the Dark Web.
“Pay the f*ck up, or we’re going to bury you with this. If you continue to fail us, we’ll escalate these releases by releasing the keys, each time a Layer is opened, a new wave of liability will fall upon you,” the note says.
