As revealed in the Daily Mail, high society jeweller Graff is the Conti ransomware gang’s latest victim. Following a successful breach that quite possibly involved a plausible-looking phishing email, they have threatened to release details of Graff customers, including David Beckham, Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, Tom Hanks, Samuel L Jackson and Sir Philip Green, unless they are paid millions of dollars. British clients targeted include F1 heiress Tamara Ecclestone and former footballer Frank Lampard
“Regrettably we, in common with a number of other businesses, have recently been the target of a sophisticated – though limited – cyber attack by professional and determined criminals.
We were alerted to their intrusive activity by our security systems, allowing us to react swiftly and shut down our network. We notified, and have been working with, the relevant law enforcement agencies and the ICO.
We have informed those individuals whose personal data was affected and have advised them on the appropriate steps to take
Graff statement
69,000 documents involving 11,000 clients – about 1% of what they have, say the hackers – including invoices, receipts, and credit notes for items bought under terms of strictest confidence have been leaked. It has been suggested that the private nature of certain relationships might be more damaging to the celebrities than the revelations of the value of the transactions. The question now is, will the criminals demand payment in Bitcoin or (untraceable?) jewels.
“This is going to bring the highest levels of international law enforcement down on the gang, and that’s going to give them a whole lot of headaches in trying to get the ransom paid and then get away with it.”
Philip Ingram, former British Intelligence officer
Source: Daily Mail
Informed Sauce is hosting an Infinidat-sponsored event in London on 2 December about protecting businesses from cyber crime.
Short talks from the Metropolitan Police, a military-trained cyber threat expert and sponsor Infinidat’s EMEA Field CTO will be followed by a panel-led, room-wide moderated discussion, with plenty of opportunities for you to contribute your thoughts and ask questions.
Visit the event microsite for more details and to sign up.