Hackers claims responsibility for Sumter Co. Sheriff’s Office breach

SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — A criminal group is now claiming responsibility for hacking into the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

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We told you Tuesday that the agency has limited access to their digital resources as state and local agencies investigate this ransomware attack.

Now, there’s questions about how much data, if any, these hackers got away with.

Cyberthreat analyst Luke Connolly dug through the dark web, confirming that criminal group Rhysida is now claiming responsibility for the breach.

The hackers posted some drivers licenses, social security cards, and fingerprints.

The criminal group posted on their site overnight, claiming they stole this data from the agency. They’re demanding seven bitcoins or about $425,000.

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Rhysida posted to its site saying it’s giving the Sheriff’s Office until August 16 to pay that ransom or they’ll begin to auction off whatever data they allegedly exfiltrated.

“So they can auction it to the highest bidder. And why would someone pay for that on the dark web? Well, because they can potentially get a list of, a large data set of personally identifiable information,” Connolly said.

Cybercriminals can then use that information to potentially set up credit accounts, steal money from existing bank accounts and even extort people if they have information that can be used against them.

Connolly says it’s still unknown if the hackers actually seized the agency’s data or if they’re just bluffing. Many images of data are low quality.

Either way, Connolly says this group already has a reputation since starting up last summer. They’ve claimed more than 100 victims in the last year.

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“Their primary objective is to get money. They’re totally revenue driven,” Connolly said.

Connolly says the criminal group is believed to be based in Russia or a former Soviet State.

We reached out to Sumter County Sheriff’s Office for comment today.

They say FDLE and Florida Digital Services are continuing to investigate.

Meanwhile, the agency says the attack has not impacted their services or response.

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