US National Rifle Association confirms 2021 ransomware attack: Report

The US National Rifle Association (NRA) has confirmed it was the subject of a ransomware attack that took place last October, media reports say.

In a filing to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the organisation's political action committee (PAC), explained the NRA experienced a ransomware attack on October 20, 2021, that brought its "network offline for two weeks", The Verge reported.

Since the NRA was not "able to access email or network files until the second week of November", the NRA failed to report nearly $2,500 worth of donations, which was the reason for the filing, citing Gizmodo, the report said.

Last year, a Russian cybercriminals group that goes by the name of Grief took credit for allegedly hacking the NRA and posting what appeared to be stolen documents on the dark web.

Grief, which is said to be associated with well-known Russia-based hacking group Evil Corp, threatened to release more documents if its payment threshold was not met.

There is no word on whether the NRA ever paid up, the report said.

The organisation never publicly confirmed the attack at the time, and instead stated on Twitter, saying it "does not discuss matters relating to its physical or electronic security", and that it "takes extraordinary measures to protect information".

The NRA did not immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment. It noted in the filing that it "has implemented additional cybersecurity measures to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence".

(With inputs from IANS)

Published on: Sunday, March 20, 2022, 05:58 PM IST