Cybernews reports that Montreal North had its data purportedly stolen in a weekend attack by the Rhysida ransomware operation, which threatened to expose the exfiltrated information should the Montreal borough refuse to pay $1 million worth of Bitcoin as ransom.
Additional details regarding the compromised files were not provided by Rhysida, which only posted a collage of illegible samples including an administrative contract, email, and Canadian passport. Montreal North officials have yet to respond to the claims made by Rhysida. Organizations in the manufacturing, healthcare, and education sectors, as well as local governments, were reported by the U.S. Department of Defense to be primarily targeted by the Vice Society-linked ransomware gang's double-extortion attacks. Over the past year, Rhysida has taken responsibility for intrusions against the Seattle-Tacoma Airport, Ohio's City of Columbus, U.S. disability services nonprofit Easterseals, Chicago-based Lurie Children's Hospital, the Washington Times, and the British Library.
