Lady Gaga’s Law Firm Rejects Ransom Demand As Hackers Leak Files
Poor Lady Gaga. Not only did the rollout for her grand post-A Star Is Born pop-queen comeback Chromatica get interrupted by a global pandemic, it’s been thwarted by leakers at every turn. First lead single “Stupid Love” hit the internet early. Then the cover art leaked. So did the tracklist. And now hackers are leaking her legal documents because her law firm refuses to pay a ransom.
Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks represents Gaga and other superstar musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Drake, the Weeknd, U2, Mariah Carey, and Nicki Minaj, as well as other celebs in other fields including Robert De Niro and LeBron James. This week the law firm admitted that it had been victimized by a cyberattack from an unnamed hacker group using ransomware software called “REvil.” As Rolling Stone reports, the hackers asked for $21 million in exchange for 756 GB of stolen data. Grubman hired cyber-extortion specialists to combat the ransomware software, and in response, on Thursday the hackers leaked 2.4 gigs of material related to the firm’s work with Gaga.
The batch of files reportedly includes Gaga’s contracts with producers, performers in her live show, and other collaborators, confidentiality agreements, reimbursement forms for none other than Jeff Koons, and much more. “It seems that GRUBMANS doesn’t care about their clients or it was a mistake to hire a recovery company to help in the negotiations,” the hackers wrote. They’ve since raised their ransom fee to $42 million and are threatening to do a Donald Trump info dump next. Yes, they claim to have lots of “dirty laundry” on the president even though Page Six reports Trump has never been a Grubman client.
“Mr. Trump, if you want to stay president, poke a sharp stick at the guys, otherwise you may forget this ambition forever,” the hackers reportedly wrote. “And to you voters, we can let you know that after such a publication, you certainly don’t want to see him as president… The deadline is one week.”
Here’s the full statement from Grubman, which reportedly has no intention of paying the ransom:
Our elections, our government and our personal information are under escalating attacks by foreign cybercriminals. Law firms are not immune from this malicious activity. Despite our substantial investment in state-of-the-art technology security, foreign cyberterrorists have hacked into our network and are demanding $42 million as ransom. We are working directly with federal law enforcement and continue to work around the clock with the world’s leading experts to address this situation.
The leaking of our clients’ documents is a despicable and illegal attack by these foreign cyberterrorists who make their living attempting to extort high-profile U.S. companies, government entities, entertainers, politicians, and others. Previously, the United States Department of Defense, HBO, Goldman Sachs, as well as numerous state and local governments have been victims of similar cybercriminal attacks.
We have been informed by the experts and the FBI that negotiating with or paying ransom to terrorists is a violation of federal criminal law. Even when enormous ransoms have been paid, the criminals often leak the documents anyway.
We are grateful to our clients for their overwhelming support and for recognizing that nobody is safe from cyberterrorism today. We continue to represent our clients with the utmost professionalism worthy of their elite stature, exercising the quality, integrity, and excellence that have made us the number-one entertainment and media law firm in the world.
Given the “dirty laundry” that has already been aired out during the 2016 campaign and his presidency, it’s hard to believe any new information would dissuade those who have sold their souls to him. But I guess we’ll see pretty soon!