{
  "id": 2224732,
  "title": "US Bank investigates LockBit's claims as ransomware crims set pay-or-leak deadline",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/us-bank-investigates-lockbits-claims-as-ransomware-crims-set-pay-or-2224732",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-20T17:30:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register",
    "slug": "the-register",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/08/20/us-bank-investigates-lockbits-claims-as-ransomware-crims-set-pay-or-leak-deadline/5290560"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "US Bank is investigating claims by LockBit ransomware crew that it was breached and data stolen. The crew has threatened to leak the stolen data on September 3 unless the bank pays an extortion demand. US Bank's VP of public affairs, Lee Henderson, stated that the bank is aware of the claims and is investigating the matter. Henderson declined to provide further details, including whether the bank has communicated with the extortionists or how much LockBit demanded. Even if the bank pays the ransom, there's no guarantee that the thieves will delete the stolen files. In 2024, when authorities dismantled an earlier version of LockBit, they found evidence that the criminals retained victim data even after payments were made. US Bank maintains that its internal systems are not impacted and there is no evidence of unauthorized access. The ransom demand and alleged data breach occurred recently, following earlier incidents affecting US Bank customers' data.",
  "summary": "Follow the money",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register Science",
        "title": "US Bank investigates LockBit's claims as ransomware crims set pay-or-leak deadline",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/us-bank-investigates-lockbits-claims-as-ransomware-crims-set-pay-or",
        "published": "2026-08-20T17:30:39.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Record",
        "title": "U.S. Bank says breach claims related to fourth-party incident",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/u-s-bank-says-breach-claims-related-to-fourth-party-incident",
        "published": "2026-08-21T16:16:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}