Hollywood celebrities’ law firm used by Madonna and Robert De Niro hit by hackers

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A law firm used by some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry including Madonna, Robert De Niro and Bruce Springsteen has been targeted by hackers.

The website of Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks is currently down and it is alleged up to 756 gigabytes of data from the firm’s files has been stolen.

News of the attack first emerged last week when a group called “REvil”, also known as Sodinokibi, claimed it had stolen the firm’s documents.

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It reportedly released a screenshot of an excerpt from a contract of Madonna’s 2019-20 “Madame X” tour with Live Nation.

Stolen documents

The New York-based legal firm told entertainment industry magazine Variety: “We can confirm that we’ve been victimised by a cyber-attack.

“We have notified our clients and our staff.

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“We have hired the world’s experts who specialise in this area, and we are working around the clock to address these matters.”

It is believed the stolen data includes clients’ contracts, non-disclosure agreements, private correspondence, email addresses and phone numbers, according to cyber security company Emsisoft.

Actor Robert De Niro also reported to be among stars who have used Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks

‘Working round the clock’

And the hackers may be asking for a ransom to be paid to avoid further leaks of this confidential information.

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The firm is said to have been associated with more then 200 high profile clients over the years including music stars: Sir Elton John, Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, Sir Rod Stewart, Lil Nas X, U2, Drake and Mariah Carey.

Boxer Mike Tyson, actors Tom Cruise and Dwayne Johnson and reality stars the Kardashian family are also understood to have used the lawyers’ services with some of their files said to be doing the rounds on the dark web.

And even big corporate names such as Sony, HBO, IMAX and Facebook are reported to have used the law firm.

Big names

The hackers linked to this latest cyber theft are also thought to be behind an attack on the UK foreign exchange firm Travelex in January this year.

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It is reported to have paid £1.87 million for its files.

Brett Callow, threat analyst at Emsisoft, told the BBC: “Non-payment of the demand will result in the information being published; payment will simply get them a pinky promise from criminals that the stolen data will be deleted.”

He said these incidents were becoming more “commonplace and increasingly concerning, adding: “Incidents involving law firms are even more concerning due to the sensitivity of the data they hold.”