Maze, the ransomware gang, threatens to leak stolen data from Threadstone Advisors, LLC, a US-based independent advisory firm, where Victoria Beckham, the former Spice Girl, businesswoman and the wife of the famous football player David Beckham, has worked.
It has been reported that Threadstone Advisors, LLC worked with Victoria Beckham to establish an investment liaison with NEO investment partners. Among the advisory firm’s clients are Charles S. Cohen, Pittsburgh Brewing Co., and Xcel Brands.
According to the report, Maze has leaked information belonging to Joshua Goldberg, the Managing Director of Threadstone, as the group claimed that proof of further stolen data is “coming soon.”
Maze’s ransomware group is threatening to leak stolen data from a US-based advisory firm https://t.co/pPMJtzjDF8 — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) June 11, 2020
This type of threat could mean that the company has not paid the ransom demanded by the gang, and there is also no information on how much money in cryptos was requested.
However, Brett Callow, the thread analyst at malware lab Emsisoft, said:
“The fact that other ransomware groups have adopted Maze’s encrypt-and-exfiltrate double-whammy style of attack likely proves that the strategy works and, consequently, it will probably eventually be adopted by those groups which do not currently steal data. Of course, the strategy will be more effective in some cases than in others. Companies which hold highly sensitive information relating to their clients – such as an M&A advisory – may be more inclined to pay to prevent their data being posted online than other businesses.”
He warned that the tactics employed by ransomware groups like Maze are becoming “ever more extreme” as he stated that hackers are weaponizing stolen data through threats against business partners, clients, and to harm companies ’reputations.
Thus, Callow concluded:
“This may be a natural evolution, or it may be a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. With so many companies facing financial challenges, fewer may be able or willing to pay ransom demands resulting in the groups seeking to exert additional pressure in an attempt to increase their conversion rate.”
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: Scale Technology