City of Columbus sues researcher for sharing leaked ransomware data


The City of Columbus, Ohio, has taken legal action against a security researcher who shared leaked data from a ransomware attack against the city with members of the news media.

A lawsuit filed last week alleges that the actions of software development consultant David Leroy Ross Jr., who also goes by Connor Goodwolf, risks “irreparable harm” to the city and its residents via the exposure of sensitive stolen data. The city alleges Ross downloaded the data from the dark web, after it was leaked by the Rhysida ransomware gang and “is threatening to share the City’s stolen data with third parties who would otherwise have no readily available means by which to obtain the City’s stolen data,” according to the complaint filed by Westley M. Phillips, the city’s lead attorney for civil litigation.

Read more…
Source: SC Media


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • France: Ten people found guilty of cyberbullying Brigitte Macron

    January 5, 2026

    A Paris court has found ten people guilty of cyberbullying France’s first lady Brigitte Macron. All defendants were handed a variety of sentences, ranging from cyberbullying awareness training to eight-month suspended prison terms. The French court pointed to “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious” comments referring to false claims regarding alleged trans identity and alleged criminality targeting ...

  • Cognizant hit with multiple US class-action lawsuits after TriZetto data breach

    January 2, 2026

    Cognizant Technology Solutions is facing a wave of class-action lawsuits in the United States after a long-running data breach at its healthcare claims processing unit, TriZetto Provider Solutions (TPS), triggered legal challenges from affected individuals. According to court filings, at least three lawsuits were filed late last month in federal courts in New Jersey and Missouri, ...

  • 1 million victims, 17,500 fake sites: Google takes on toll-fee scammers

    November 13, 2025

    A Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS) platform based in China, known as “Lighthouse,” is the subject of a new Google lawsuit. Lighthouse enables smishing (SMS phishing) campaigns, and if you’re in the US there is a good chance you’ve seen their texts about a small amount you supposedly owe in toll fees. Here’s an example of a toll-fee scam ...

  • YouTube to pay $24.5 million to settle Trump lawsuit

    September 30, 2025

    YouTube agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump after he was suspended by social media platforms following the January 6, 2021, insurrection. This makes Alphabet-owned YouTube the last of the three Big Tech social media companies sued by Trump — which included Meta and then Twitter, now called X ...

  • Facebook data breach settlement payments are starting to roll out

    September 13, 2025

    If you used Facebook at any time during a 15-year period, keep an eye on your bank account. Settlement payments related to the several-years-old Cambridge Analytica data breach scandal are starting to roll out this month, per CBS News. A court filing cited by CBS News says the average payment amount will come out to around ...

  • AT&T agrees to $177 million settlement over data breach

    June 25, 2025

    Current and former AT&T customers may be eligible for a payout from a $177 million settlement connected to two data breaches. A U.S. judge granted preliminary approval on June 20 to the settlement that resolves lawsuits against AT&T over the 2019 and 2024 incidents. The company announced in July 2024 that call and text message records ...