Hackers stole and leaked more than 337,000 sensitive records from the Los Angeles Police Department after they breached a digital storage system used by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.
The attack exposed 7.7 terabytes of data from discovery files in closed and settled civil lawsuits against the LAPD.
The breach occurred around Mar. 20 when unauthorized intruders accessed a third-party tool that the City Attorney’s Office used to share legal files with opposing counsel and litigants. The system remained isolated, with no connections to LAPD networks or other city databases.
Hackers copied officer personnel files, Internal Affairs investigation reports, disciplinary records, witness names, medical information and unredacted criminal complaints. At least one file included details from an active 2022 sexual assault case against an LAPD officer.
City officials responded quickly. The City Attorney’s Office immediately secured the tool, hired external forensics experts and began an investigation. Spokesperson Ivor Pine explained that the data stayed contained within the application and that the office would notify affected individuals once the review finished.
LAPD leaders stated that they took the incident seriously and worked closely with the City Attorney to assess the scope. FBI investigators also joined the probe. The Los Angeles Police Protective League criticized City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, noting that officers first learned about the breach from news reports rather than official channels.
This leak has raised serious concerns. California law generally keeps most police personnel records private, yet criminals now hold them. Officers worry about threats to their personal safety, privacy violations and potential new lawsuits. Witnesses and litigants face risks from the exposure of their names and medical details.
“It is more than a technical glitch,” commented former LAPD Assistant Chief Al Labrada. “It is a fundamental breach of the duty of care owed to those who serve.”
World Leaks is the extortion gang that claimed responsibility for the theft and leak. The group emerged in early 2025 as a rebrand and evolution from the Hunters International ransomware operation. It shifted away from traditional ransomware encryption toward a pure data extortion model, stealing sensitive information and threatening to publish it to pressure victims into paying ransoms.
World Leaks operates as an Extortion-as-a-Service platform, providing tools for affiliates to exfiltrate data and maintaining a public leak site on the dark web where it posts victim data.
The group has targeted hospitals, manufacturers, technology companies, defence contractors, Fortune 500 firms and government entities, often focusing on organizations in North America. Security researchers directly linked World Leaks to the LAPD breach, noting that portions of the data appeared briefly on the gang’s site before removal.
Statement on the leak at @CityAttorneyLA Hydee Feldstein Soto's office. https://t.co/2BhOUjOLcr pic.twitter.com/4Y8b1neTjg
— WhosThatCop (@WhosThatCop) April 8, 2026
Read more: Hackers stole US$20 million through ATM ‘jackpotting’ last year
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