> but now it’s in an open-access telegram with thousands of benign citizens waiting for the next treasure trove of data to be dropped. The extortion model is i

> but now it’s in an open-access telegram with thousands of benign citizens waiting for the next treasure trove of data to be dropped. The extortion model is interesting because you can flip-the-script and just extort the company and if they don't pay, you leak it. The upshot to this approach is that for LAPSUS$, it increases their reputation and credibility for future attacks. In the "old model" where you try to sell the data leak itself, you still have to find a willing buyer and negotiate a price. The nice thing about the new model is that it eliminates the search for a buyer and a price, and leaking the data is free marketing. It's kind of a win/win. Either they get paid in cash or they get paid in clout. There have been high profile uber-public data leaks before LAPSUS$, but I don't think many have been married to a "business model" like this. E.g., Epik got hacked, but that was ideological. Same with Hacking Team, Equation Group, arguably all of Snowden's stuff. LulzSec was infamous for just doing things for fun, not for cash.