Australian law firm HWL Ebsworth has confirmed that it experienced a network breach after the ALPHV ransomware gang began leaking data they claim to have stolen from the company. HWL Ebsworth is a major law firm in Australia, with a large workforce and numerous offices across the country.
The ransomware gang published over a million documents, totaling 1.45 terabytes of data, which they allege were taken from the law firm’s systems in April 2023. The cybercriminals are now threatening to release more data unless their demands are met.
Despite the threat, HWL Ebsworth has taken a firm stance and declared that they will not give in to the extortion demands.
They emphasized their commitment to ethical and moral duties and their refusal to support criminal activities such as extorting money and threatening to expose sensitive data.
The firm acknowledges the importance of safeguarding the privacy and security of client and employee information, and they are actively communicating with their clients regarding the incident.
The leaked documents raise concerns, particularly due to HWL Ebsworth’s involvement with the public sector. There is a worry that the exposed data may contain sensitive or confidential information related to governmental matters.
ANZ banking group, various state governments, the Environment and Human Services Department, and the Australian Taxation Office are among the current or former clients of HWL Ebsworth that could be affected by this breach, according to ABC.
The leaked data is easily accessible on the indexed database of the BlackCat ransomware gang’s website. This feature allows visitors to search and filter the files based on filenames or file types.
