Criminal cybergang behind Lady Gaga data dump says it leaked files about President Trump, posting 'most harmless information' first

• The cybercriminals behind this week's Lady Gaga data dump have posted a new ransom note and data they say is about President Trump on their site on the dark web.
• This week the criminals dumped thousands of Lady Gaga's legal documents, demanding a $42 million ransom from her law firm, which was hacked.
• The criminals said this week that President Trump would be their next weekend and that his "dirty laundry" could hurt him in this year's election.
• Meanwhile the law firm has denied any connection to Trump.
• It was not immediately clear what the newly posted data is, but it was provided in three batches on the gang's dark web site.
• This story will be updated.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The unidentified cybercriminals who dumped Lady Gaga's data after the hack of a prominent entertainment law firm have dumped what they say is data about the president.

The cyber gang dropped links to "the first part of data," on the dark web site, which Business Insider has reviewed.

"I would hurry up," the cyber gang said in their post, which also referenced Trump's political opponent, the presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden. "In the place of your competitor, I would buy all the data and put it right at the start of the election. That would be fun. But you can get ahead of him."

The ransomware gang has stolen data from businesses and leaked it on a dark web site in the past.

This week, criminals hacked into top entertainment law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks this week, and leaked thousands of contracts and other documents from Lady Gaga. It is not yet clear what is included in the documents the gang says are about the president.

The criminals threatened to release more data about celebrities, including Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, and dozens of others if the law firm doesn't pay $42 million in ransom.

The ransom note concluded with a threat to the president: "The next person we'll be publishing is Donald Trump. There's an election race going on, and we found a ton of dirty laundry."

The law firm, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, denied this week that Trump is a client, which the criminals seemed to dispute. The criminal gang, REvil, executes ransomware attacks on businesses in which it encrypts their data, demands a ransom to release it, otherwise leaking it if they fail to do so.

As they dumped data they claimed are about Trump, the group said, "Mr. Lawyer says that Donald has never been their client. And he says that we are bluffing. Oh well. The first part, with the most harmless information, we will post here."

"This is their business, we have fun watching with popcorn."

Here is the full ransom note post:

We read the position of the authorities. Declare this an act of terrorism. Your position is your choice. This will not affect our work in any way. It's just that it can completely erase certain frames that we still observed. But now is not about that.

Mr. Lawyer says that Donald has never been their client. And he says that we are bluffing. Oh well. The first part, with the most harmless information, we will post here. We are very pleased that the stars support (according to media reports) Mr. Lawyer

But how strong will their support be when the paparazzi start publishing in the media? When will they begin to refuse to participate in certain events, concerts? Withdraw signed contracts, cancel their performances?

Mr. lawyer, you will be to blame. And you will pay all losses from your pocket. Moreover, as correctly noted, your reputation has already suffered. But everyone believes that this is the worst we could do. Oh no. Far from the worst. Both we and you are aware of this. We will receive money in 2 ways:

1. You and I find a common language (you can even [sic] through intermediaries in other countries, since local idiots who themselves have something behind their backs prevent you from doing this). Then, everyone will see that you value the reputation and safety of customers. We give our word that after our agreements the data will not be published, used somewhere, or sold. This is our word. Our reputation is very well known and dear to us. We always keep our words. Then we get money, you return your reputation, data, strengthen your security and continue to live.

2. You continue to listen to smart guys who, of course, will not compensate you for losses. Our actions will be as follows:

1) We will auction customer data every week (by last name) on the information exchange.
This data will be bought either by the stars themselves, or various media and blackmail them then, or simply kind people with good intentions. We do not care. The main thing is we will get the money.
Accordingly, after this, people will begin to have problems. And, oh yes, they will know who to blame for this. And who put their safety and reputation in exchange for money.

2) Your data will remain unavailable. Let's be honest. Even these idiots cannot decipher elliptic cryptography. Although you can continue to believe them. You incur losses daily, and they are actively investigating this crime, although they themselves understand that they will fall into the wall. Moreover, they are looking for performers, not organizers. This is their business, we have fun watching with popcorn.

That's all I wanted to say. As you can see, both options benefit us. And we will get it. The only question is how strong losses [sic] you will incur. And those who trusted you.

This story will be updated.

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