April 28, 2021
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington, DC, Police Department said on Monday that its computer network was breached, and a Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate claimed to have stolen sensitive data, including on informants, that it threatened to share with local criminal gangs unless police paid an unspecified ransom.
The cybercriminals posted screenshots on their dark web site supporting their claim to have stolen more than 250 gigabytes of data.
The District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that it had asked the FBI to investigate the “unauthorised access”. There was no indication that any police operations were affected, and the department did not immediately say whether it had been hit by ransomware.