Due to COVID-19, Lady Gaga announced earlier in the year that her upcoming album, Chromatica, was to be pushed back due to the global pandemic at hand.
On March 24, Gaga wrote on Instagram that Chromatica was postponed until further notice. “While I believe art is one of the strongest things we have to provide joy and healing to each other during times like this,” she wrote, “it just doesn’t feel right to me to release this album with all that is going on with this global pandemic.”
Unfortunately, that time might be coming sooner than Lady Gaga anticipated. Gaga’s firm, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, recently admitted that they were victims of a cyber attack from hackers using a software called REvil.
The hackers demanded 42 million in exchange for the stolen album. Gaga’s lawyers refused their offer. They released a statement saying that they are working with federal law enforcement and the world’s leading experts to address the situation.
“The leaking of our clients’ documents is a despicable and illegal attack by these foreign cyberterrorists who make their living attempting to extort high-profile U.S. companies, government entities, entertainers, politicians, and others,” the spokesperson added. “We have been informed by the experts and the FBI that negotiating with or paying ransom to terrorists is a violation of federal criminal law. Even when enormous ransoms have been paid, the criminals often leak the documents anyway.”
Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks spokesperson. Quote from Rolling Stone.
Regardless of their efforts, the hackers stood by their word and leaked 2.6 GB of stolen data. The data included the contract between Gaga and producers, live performances, and collaborators.
According to Rolling stone, the hackers released their own statement criticizing the firm’s lack of response. “It seems that GRUBMANS doesn’t care about their clients or it was a mistake to hire a recovery company to help in the negotiations,” the hackers wrote. “As we promised, we [published] the first part of the data because the time is up.”
Gaga has not personally commented on the issue at hand but this isn’t the first breach. The album cover, tracklist, and single “Stupid Love” were leaked earlier in the year.
