California’s Sonoma County Superior Court Data Reportedly Stolen and Posted for Sale by Meow Ransomware Group

A shocking revelation has emerged as a batch of sample files, reportedly stolen from California’s Superior Court in Sonoma County, have been put up for sale on the dark web by the notorious Meow ransomware group. The group claims to have accessed approximately 5GB of sensitive records from the court’s network systems, including a wide array of legal documents that provide valuable insights into the inner workings of the courthouse.

The stolen data, which dates back to 2013, includes employee data, client information, scanned payment documents, personal data such as dates of birth and Social Security numbers, agreements, certificates, addresses, banking information, and even criminal records. The group is offering the entire 5GB pack to a single buyer for $20,000, but is also open to selling it to multiple buyers for $10,000 each.

Cybernews had the opportunity to review some of the confidential file samples, which revealed a range of court and criminal documents, including marriage certificates, court depositions, DWI records, conviction lists, bail bond collection reports, search warrants, pre-trial assessments, jail release requests, legal case filings, and more. The documents also included third-party vendor invoices, cashed checks with bank account details, employee payroll information, and health insurance forms.

The Meow ransomware group, also known as MeowCorp or MeowCorp2022, has been linked to previous cyberattacks, with their ransomware using a combination of ChaCha20 and RSA-4096 encryption methods. The group has been actively targeting victims and demanding ransom payments, with their victim count steadily increasing. This latest breach of the California court’s data underscores the growing threat posed by cybercriminals and the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity measures.