Ransomware gang says it targeted National Rifle Association

RICHMOND, Va. – A ransomware pack believed to run retired of Russia says it hacked the National Rifle Association, the astir almighty gun-rights radical successful the United States.

The gang, which calls itself Grief, published a fistful of what look to beryllium the NRA files connected a acheronian web site. The files, reviewed by The Associated Press, subordinate to grants the NRA has awarded. Ransomware gangs often station a victim’s files publically successful hopes of spurring them to wage retired a ransom.

NRA spokesperson Andrew Arulanandam said connected Twitter that the NRA “does not sermon matters relating to its carnal oregon physics security” and takes “extraordinary measures” to support its information. A idiosyncratic with nonstop cognition of the concern who was not authorized to sermon the substance publically and spoke connected information of anonymity, said the NRA has had problems with its email strategy this week — a imaginable motion of a ransomware attack.

Ransomware attacks person spiked successful caller years against each mode of companies and organizations, but seldom are the targets arsenic politically delicate arsenic the NRA. The radical has agelong enjoyed adjacent ties to apical Republican lawmakers and been a been a large protagonist of Republican candidates. The NRA spent tens of millions of dollar successful the past 2 statesmanlike elections trying to assistance Donald Trump.

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The radical has been beset by ineligible and fiscal troubles successful caller years but remains a potent unit politically and has much than 5 cardinal members.

Allan Liska, an quality expert astatine the cybersecurity steadfast Recorded Future, said it's highly antithetic for a politically progressive radical specified arsenic the NRA to beryllium targeted by ransomware gangs, but helium said determination is nary grounds the onslaught was politically motivated. He said ransomware gangs usually bash not people organizations, but susceptible technologies.

“It's not apt that this was specifically targeted astatine the NRA, the NRA conscionable happened to get hit," helium said. “You ne'er know, though.”

Liska said the email problems could beryllium related to the ransomware attack. He said email systems are apical targets of ransomware gangs due to the fact that they often incorporate delicate accusation and hamper an organization's effect to an attack, further incentivizing them to wage a ransom.

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Spokespeople for the FBI did not instantly instrumentality a connection seeking comment.

Greif is believed by galore cybersecurity experts to beryllium linked to Evil Corp, a ransomware pack that was antecedently active. The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions connected the radical successful 2019, saying it had stolen much than $100 cardinal from banks and fiscal institutions successful 40 countries.

U.S. and Russian ties person already been strained this twelvemonth implicit a drawstring of high-profile ransomware attacks against American targets launched by Russia-based cyber gangs. President Joe Biden has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin successful an effort to get him to ace down connected ransomware criminals, but respective apical Biden medication cybersecurity officials person said precocious that they person seen nary grounds of that.

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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker successful Washington contributed to this report.

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