Jeremy Clarkson is among a host of high-profile people to have their details allegedly posted on the dark web by Russian hackers. Other public figures such as veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, ex-tennis player Tim Henman, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, and snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan's data has also been compromised.
The breach comes after high-end farm shop Daylesford Organic were targeted by a group of Russian-based hackers who go by the name Snatch, after the cult Guy Ritchie film. The hackers are alleged to have shared the details on the dark web after attempting to blackmail the firm, Gloucestershire Live reports.
The firm labelled "Britain's poshest farm shop" has been targeted by the hackers who use cyber "brute force" to infiltrate company networks and covertly harvest data. Firms in the US, Canada and Europe have previously been targeted by Snatch and the ransomware attacks usually come some time after the initial breach.
Gloucestershire-based Daylesford Organic, which also has four satellite shops in London and an online business, are understood to have become the latest company to fall victim to the group of hackers. Some 80 gigabytes of stolen files are reported to have been uploaded to the dark web after the company refused to pay the ransom in Bitcoin, the Mail on Sunday reports.
The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire presenter is said to be one of Daylesford's frequent customers and the business is believed to be the inspiration for his own Diddly Squat Farm Shop, which has been showcased on his Amazon TV series Clarkson's Farm. But it's not just famous people's details that have been compromised as staff grievances, confidentiality agreements and banking information is also reportedly included in the stolen files.
Information on the firm's owners, including influential Lady Carole Bamford, is understood to have been breached too. She and her billionaire husband Lord Bamford, the chairman of JCB, are Conservative Party donors and recently hosted former prime minister Boris Johnson's wedding to Carrie Symonds at their Cotswold home, Daylesford House.
A spokesman for the company said on Monday: "Daylesford Organic was the victim of a cyberattack back in June 2021. It was reported to, and thoroughly investigated by, the ICO at the time and there has been no further incident since. Daylesford Organic takes customer data protection very seriously and additional security measures were put in place to defend the business following the 2021 attack."
The National Cyber Security Centre say the threat to the UK remains heightened following the invasion of Ukraine. Daylesford have not replied to requests for comment but the Information Commissioner's Office said: "Daylesford Organic made us aware of an incident. After reviewing the information, we gave data protection advice and closed the case."
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