President Donal Trump is being threatened by hackers, who say they have thousands of incriminating emails in their possession.
The anonymous hacker group crippled computer systems of a high-profile celebrity law firm, and now claim to have 756GB of confidential documents, including contracts and emails from the firm’s client list – including the likes of Madonna, Drake, Lady Gaga, Robert De Niro and Elton John.
The hackers first demanded US$21 million from the law firm, to stop the documents going public.
They posted a screenshot of a Madonna contract – complete with signatures from a company employee – to prove they weren’t bluffing.
This week, they have doubled their ransom claiming they also have information on the US President. The group wants US$42 million to return the documents.
Speaking on the dark web, the hackers said, “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.”
The hackers have also appealed to Trump, urging him to get the lawyers to pay up or else.
“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”
However, Donald Trump is not a known client for the breached law firm, nor are any of his companies – so it’s unclear what ‘dirty laundry’ the hackers might have on him.
Ransomwear – where a person unknowingly downloads files onto their computer, letting hackers illegally download confidential files on a network – has quickly become one of the most widely used weapons by hackers.
The deadline put in place by the hackers in question ends on Thursday.
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