GoKawiilCybercriminals have allegedly stolen a large amount of sensitive internal documents from the Los Angeles Police Department and leaked the data online.
The stolen data included police officer personnel files, internal affairs investigations, and discovery documents that can include unredacted criminal complaints and personal information, such as witness names and medical data, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Emma Best, the founder of transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets, which hosts the data, said in an online post that the extortion gang World Leaks is behind the data breach.
Best said she was able to review some of the leaked data when it was posted — and then deleted — on the gang’s leak website, where the group publicizes its breaches in an attempt to pressure its victims into paying a ransom.
It’s not clear for what reason the data is no longer listed on World Leaks’ website.
In a public statement, the LAPD said it is investigating the breach, which it said did not involve LAPD systems or networks, but rather affected “a digital storage system” belonging to the LA City Attorney’s Office.
Contact Us Do you have more information about this breach? Or other data breaches? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or . Do you have more information about this breach? Or other data breaches? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email
The LAPD said it is “working with the LA City Attorney’s Office to gain access to the impacted files to understand the full scope of the data breach.”
According to The Los Angeles Times, most police officer records under California state law are deemed private. The newspaper said that the leak, if proven authentic, would represent a “stunning breach of police data,” as police records are rarely disclosed or published.
The breach reportedly exposed 7.7 terabytes of data and more than 337,000 files.
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