In some ways, celebrities share the same vulnerabilities as the not so rich and famous: recently, a law firm used by various notable celebrities has found itself to be the victim of a ransomware attack, with over 750 gigabytes of files being locked up. Containing information from contact information to contracts and nondisclosure agreements, the hack has resulted in Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sack reaching out to various experts in the field to determine how to best respond, in an attempt to help protect their high profile clients. For this case, the specific type of ransomware used is known as either REvil or Sodinokibi. Clients of the firm are believed to include notable figures like Bruce Springsteen and Mariah Carey.
Ransomware attacks continue to be common, with the recent emphasis to working from home opening up more opportunities for hackers. Says Tim Page, CEO of Datrium, “Ransomware continues to dramatically plague businesses, and this research shows that businesses are even more concerned about it because of their newly distributed workforces resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.” Based on a recent report published by Datrium:
- Approximately 96% of respondents are concerned about a ransomware attack during the COVID-19 crisis,
- About three quarters of respondents believe remote IT teams will make recovery from an attack more difficult, and
- Roughly half of respondents are concerned about the growing costs associated with ransomware.
Source:
https://gizmodo.com/madonna-mariah-carey-and-other-major-celebs-are-caught-1843419053
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2020/05/11/ransomware-disaster-recovery/
