A prominent Sacramento law firm is suing its IT provider for over $1 million after falling victim to a ransomware attack. The law firm, Mastagni Holstedt, alleges that after hiring the computer firm Lantech LLC for cybersecurity services, they were hit with a cyberattack and forced to pay a ransom to regain access to their data. The lawsuit also names former Lantech owner Terry Berg and backup computer data storage company Acronis Inc. The attack is attributed to a Russian-speaking group known as “Black Basta,” responsible for numerous ransomware attacks. Acronis denies any responsibility for the cyberattack. The lawsuit seeks damages for negligence and breach of contract.
A Microsoft AI engineer has raised safety concerns about the company’s AI image generator, Copilot Designer, to the Federal Trade Commission. The engineer found that the tool is capable of generating harmful and disturbing images, including demons, sexualized images, and politically sensitive content. Despite repeated warnings, Microsoft has refused to take down the tool. The company claims to address employee concerns but has not implemented changes to ensure better safeguards.
Why do we care?
Don’t mess with law firms. If you mess up a law firm’s security, you should expect they will file a case against you. Of note here is that Acronis is named in the suit, too. The case’s first hearing is scheduled for November – I’ll watch it. This isn’t the first, and I’m tracking that Boardman v Involta one too.