Cyber Risks · Krebs on Security

Indictment, Lawsuits Revive Trump-Alfa Bank Story

Summary: A 2018 Senate Armed Services Committee report on DNS data showing frequent lookups between a Trump Organization email server and Alfa Bank became public on Sept. 14, 2021, through a lawsuit filed by researcher Daniel J. Jones and his nonprofit, The Democracy Integrity Project. Alfa Bank has filed John Doe lawsuits in Pennsylvania and Florida claiming the DNS lookups resulted from "highly sophisticated cyberattacks" that fabricated apparent communications, and has subpoenaed at least 49 people or entities, with at least 15 deposed.

Key Takeaway: Alfa Bank's subpoenas reached at least 49 researchers and commentators, including security experts who merely discussed the DNS data on social media, and the same former federal cybercrime prosecutor who brought the data to the FBI in 2016 was indicted last week. A security leader should note that publishing or analyzing network metadata can draw years of litigation and depositions, as Indiana University professor L. Jean Camp's case shows.

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Topics
Data Breaches
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