Washington Police Department

History

2023: Washington police start giving out free trackers to protect cars from theft

On November 1, 2023, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that Washington police had begun distributing free Apple AirTag wireless trackers to local residents for installation on vehicles. These tags will make it easier to track cars in case of theft. Read more here.

2021: Theft of documents as a result of a hacker attack on the police IT system

In late April 2021, the Washington Police Department reported that its computer network was hacked in a targeted cyber attack. A ransomware group called Babuk is threatening to reveal sensitive details about police whistleblowers if it is not contacted within three days. FBI was involved in the investigation of the cyber attack.

Unauthorized access to the server, AP reported, citing a statement from the police department.

Hackers hacked into Washington police's IT systems and stole documents

Now we are assessing the volume of defeats and analyzing the possible consequences, and also involved the FBI to investigate this case, the police explained, without providing information about the cyber attack itself.

By the end of April 2021, it is unclear whether the attackers managed to block police access to their systems during the break-in.

The Russian-language ransomware group Babuk, which emerged in early 2021, said it had downloaded "sufficient information" from internal police control networks. The screenshots, which were posted by the group on the dark web and posted on social media, suggest that hackers gained access to information about criminal gang activities and police intelligence reports.

The head of the British cybersecurity consulting company Bridewell Consulting, James Smith, noted that the risk remains even if the company pays the ransom.

With such attacks, hackers not only encrypt data, but also steal it in order to then use it on their own or sell it, and relying on a ransom in this case is difficult, he said in an interview with the BBC.

Earlier, Babuk attacked the Houston Rockets basketball team with a ransomware program. The hackers claimed to have gained access to various documents, including player contracts and financial data.^[1]

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