Hackers steal and leak sensitive LAPD police documents

Cybercriminals have allegedly stolen a large amount of sensitive internal documents from the Los Angeles Police Department and leaked the data online. The stolen data included police officer personnel files, internal affairs investigations, and discovery documents that can include unredacted criminal complaints and personal information, such as witness names and medical data, according to the Los Angeles Times. Emma Best, the founder of transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets, which hosts the data, said in an online post that the extortion gang World Leaks is behind the data breach. Best said she was able to review some of the leaked data when it was posted — and then deleted — on the gang’s leak website, where the group publicizes its breaches in an attempt to pressure its victims into paying a ransom. It’s not clear for what reason the data is no longer listed on World Leaks’ website. In a public statement, the LAPD said it is investigating the breach, which it said did not involve LAPD systems or networks, but rather affected “a digital storage system” belonging to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

Contact Us Do you have more information about this breach? Or other data breaches? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email. The LAPD said it is “working with the LA City Attorney’s Office to gain access to the impacted files to understand the full scope of the data breach.” According to the Los Angeles Times, most police officer records under California state law are deemed private. The newspaper said that the leak, if proven authentic, would represent a “stunning breach of police data,” as police records are rarely disclosed or published. The breach reportedly exposed 7.7 terabytes of data and more than 337,000 files. Ivor Pine, a spokesperson for the LA City Attorney’s Office, told TechCrunch that the office became aware “of unauthorized access to a third-party tool,” without naming it. “The information was self contained in this application without any links or access to any department records or systems,” Pine said in en email. An LAPD spokesperson declined to comment, referring to the department’s public statement on X. The hackers could not be reached for comment. World Leaks started its activities in January 2025 as an apparent rebrand of a previous group known as Hunters International. Since then, the group has compromised organizations across several industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, technology, and others. According to cybersecurity firm Halcyon, the hackers have “demonstrated capability against defense contractors and Fortune 500 organizations.” Updated to included responses from LAPD and the LA City Attorney’s Office. Topics cybercrime, cybersecurity, hacking, Los Angeles Police Department, Security Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai Senior Reporter, Cybersecurity Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai is a Senior Writer at TechCrunch, where he covers hacking, cybersecurity, surveillance, and privacy. You can contact or verify outreach from Lorenzo by emailing lorenzo@techcrunch.com, via encrypted message at +1 917 257 1382 on Signal, and @lorenzofb on Keybase/Telegram.

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