Credit: Santeri Viinamäki/CC BY-SA

This is why we don’t keep all the important data in one place.

Grubman Shire Meiselas and Sacks is one of the most prolific entertainment law firms in the country, working with multiple big names such as Christina Aguilera, Bruce Springsteen, Sir Elton John, Lady Gaga, and many more. Being a law firm, Grubman Shire Meiselas and Sacks understandably keeps some very sensitive data on hand. That’s why it’s so unfortunate that Grubman Shire Meiselas and Sacks was hacked recently.

A currently undetermined hacker has swiped approximately 756GB worth of data from Grubman Shire Meiselas and Sacks’ servers. This includes things like private conversations, confidential agreements and contracts, and contact information, all things no celebrity in their right mind would want leaked to the public. The hackers have demanded $21 million for the return of the data, and in the event these demands are not met, the entire database will be released into the wild. To prove that they aren’t bluffing, the hackers publicly posted two letters signed by Madonna’s agent and a copy of Christina Aguilera’s music rights.

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Cyber-security experts haven’t nailed down a perpetrator just yet, but they suspect this crime to be the work of a hacker group known as REvil, AKA Sodinokibi. This group is notorious for several financial cyber-crimes, including attacks on Travelex, HSBC, and Royal Bank of Scotland.

In an official statement, Grubman Shire Meiselas and Sacks said “we have notified our clients and our staff. We have hired the world’s experts who specialize in this area, and we are working around the clock to address these matters.”