Hackers Threaten To Submit Artists' Data To AI Models If Art Site Doesn't Pay Up

An old school ransomware attack has a new twist: threatening to feed data to AI companies so it'll be added to LLM datasets. 404 Media reports: Artists&Clients is a website that connects independent artists with interested clients. Around August 30, a message appeared on Artists&Clients attributed to the ransomware group LunaLock. 'We have breached the website Artists&Clients to steal and encrypt all its data,' the message on the site said, according to screenshots taken before the site went down on Tuesday. 'If you are a user of this website, you are urged to contact the owners and insist that they pay our ransom. If this ransom is not paid, we will release all data publicly on this Tor site, including source code and personal data of users. Additionally, we will submit all artwork to AI companies to be added to training datasets.'

LunaLock promised to delete the stolen data and allow users to decrypt their files if the site's owner paid a $50,000 ransom. 'Payment is accepted in either Bitcoin or Monero,' the notice put on the site by the hackers said. The ransom note included a countdown timer that gave the site's owners several days to cough up the cash. 'If you do not pay, all files will be leaked, including personal user data. This may cause you to be subject to fines and penalties under the GDPR and other laws.'

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