ATF Hacked in Russian Ransomware Attack (Ft. Cybernews' Stefanie Schappert)

This week, news broke that an extortion group claimed it broke into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

To explain what we know and what may be coming, we have the reporter who broke the story. Stephanie Schappert of Cybernews joins the show to describe how she discovered the hack and what the ATF has said about it.

Schappert said a Russian-language hacker group posted news of the hack on a "victim blog," but didn't post any evidence. She noted that the ATF confirmed it had been hacked but didn't say who did it. Still, it did say the hack only impacted a system related to criminal enforcement.

While the hacker group did post an announcement that it plans to release data from the hack in the coming days, there's little information on what may be in there to this point. Schappert said the ATF's comments offer clues about what may have been compromised, and the hacker group's history provides further insight into how this may all play out. She said the government's policy on dealing with hackers and this group's background make the threat that the stolen information could become public real.