Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office allegedly hit by ransomware
A Russian ransomware crew is bragging that it hijacked nearly 100GB of files from an Ohio sheriff’s office, public safety information allegedly included.
Image by Cybernews
A Russian ransomware crew is bragging that it hijacked nearly 100GB of files from an Ohio sheriff’s office, public safety information allegedly included.
A Russian-speaking cybercrime crew says it has jacked nearly 100 gigabytes of files from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
The Qilin gang, one of the more notorious ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) outfits, posted a leak notice on its underground site on May 4th, claiming it now holds 128,294 files ripped from the Sheriff’s systems.
The Qilin gang is known for playing dirty. It typically runs double extortion schemes, demanding one payment to unlock systems and another to keep stolen data from being dumped online. If victims don’t pay, Qilin uploads the files online.
The gang claims the stash includes intel on July 4th public safety plans. It could include parade routes, crowd control, and maybe even which deputies are working during the holiday. They also claim to have insider information about job listings at the Sheriff’s Office.
It was not possible to independently verify any of the claims. Cybernews contacted the Sheriff’s Office, but a response is yet to be received.
The county office is currently mourning a long-serving deputy, Larry Henderson, who was intentionally killed in a car crash on May 2nd. The attacker was a family member of the man who was killed a day before by Cincinnati Police.
Who is Qilin ransomware?
Qilin gang first appeared on the ransomware circuit in 2022, although its dark leak site claims it began operating in 2021.
The gang is widely known for attacking hospitals. It was responsible for a hack of England’s NHS partner Synnovis Labs, causing critical services to shut down at five London state-run hospitals.
According to the Ransomlooker tool by Cybernews, Qilin is one of the most active ransomware gangs, with 403 claimed victims.
Among the victims claimed by the gang are the Houston Symphony, the local Detroit PBS, the US newspaper conglomerate Lee Enterprises, and the second-largest family-run conglomerate in South Korea SK Group.
