Just when Jones Day thought they could slink out of the limelight now that the Lincoln Project is in disarray and their efforts to undermine election confidence with deeply cynical challenges to absentee ballot security and elevate the advocates behind child kidnapping might fade into the rearview mirror, the firm has a whole new public relations threat to worry about.
Databreaches.net first reported that threat actors claim to have gotten their hands on Jones Day files in a ransomware attack. The good folks at Databreaches reached out to Jones Day but didn’t get a response about the attack or the data that’s already been publicly dumped on the dark web. But the hackers did:
Hi, they ignore us so they will be published.
Allegedly, the attack has exfiltrated 100 GB of files. So far they’ve only posted only relatively mundane material — cover letters and such — to prove that they aren’t lying. Perhaps that’s the extent of the breach and that’s why Jones Day is downplaying these allegations by ignoring them.
Still, it’s not a great look for a firm that prides itself on its cybersecurity practice. While vacuuming up every remaining Trump administration collaborator, they should have nabbed noted cybersecurity expert Rudy Giuliani!
Ransomeware is an increasing problem for the profession as confidential material is getting nipped and exposing clients to damages ranging from embarrassment to trade secret theft. Seyfarth was hit with a big attack last year and, to a certain extent, no firm is going to completely eliminate the risk as hacking constantly evolves. But it’s still a nightmare to be a firm caught with its pants down.
Thankfully, for Jones Day, this isn’t even the most embarrassing story about them in 2021.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.