Russia-tied hackers threaten to leak Georgia Trump trial docs if ransom isn't paid: report

A Russia-based ransomware gang says it will publish pilfered Fulton County data — which includes documents tied to former President Donald Trump's court case — unless it is paid a ransom, according to a new report from the Register.

LockBit's threat could also involve a "total leak" of the Fulton County data that would put various cases and sources at risk, according to the report.

“The stolen data will be published on the blog, there is no chance of destroying the stolen data without payment,” LockBit warned, according to former Washington Post reporter Brian Krebs' blog Krebs On Security.

Earlier in the month, before an FBI intervention, the hacker collective said they were determined to expose various entities alleged negligence, the report notes.

“We will demonstrate how local structures negligently handled information protection,” their original warning reads. “We will reveal lists of individuals responsible for confidentiality. Documents marked as confidential will be made publicly available. We will show documents related to access to the state citizens’ personal data. We aim to give maximum publicity to this situation; the documents will be of interest to many. Conscientious residents will bring order.”

The group has teased more than a dozen suspected targets including the FBI, various hospitals and Fulton County.

Now, Lockbit has set the March 2 deadline for government officials to pay a ransom, according to the Krebs On Security report.

The criminal gang boasts a trove of confidential information identities of jurors serving on a murder trial that "could put lives at risk and jeopardize a number of other criminal trials," according to Krebs on Security.

In January, Fulton County was riddled by a hack that the the National Crime Agency pinned to LockBit having "disrupted as a result of international law enforcement action," according to a local report.