Silverstein Properties may be part of a hack related to 9/11 documents
The Federal Bureau of Investigations is investigating hacked insurance and legal documents related to the September 11 attacks, and that breach may include developer Silverstein Properties.
Silverstein has owned and managed the World Trade Center since July 2001. A spokesperson for the company said Silverstein is looking into the issue, according to the Financial Times.
“We are aware of claims of alleged security breaches at firms involved in the five-year insurance litigation following the attacks of 9/11,” the spokesperson said. “To date, we have found no evidence to support a security breach at our company. We have spent the last 17 years fulfilling our obligation to deliver a magnificent and fully rebuilt World Trade Center. We will not be distracted by 9/11 conspiracy theories.”
The hacker, who posts under the name “The Dark Overlord,” claimed to have taken emails and non-disclosure emails from various firms. The hacker said it would sell the documents for bitcoin, according to the report.
Larry Silverstein famously purchased the leases on the World Trade Center just six weeks before the attacks. Silverstein and his entities collected about $4.1 billion from insurers related to the terrorism attacks, which allowed him to rebuild the complex.
The September 11 attacks cost the insurance industry about $45 billion in 2017 terms, the report said. And it has led to years of litigation over who should bear the cost.
The report noted that other companies possibly affected by the breach include include Lloyd’s of London and law firm Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, now called Husch Blackwell. In a statement, Husch Blackwell said the firm wasn’t affected. “No documents were obtained from Husch Blackwell and that there was no unauthorized access to Husch Blackwell systems, client files, documents or data,” the statement said. [FT] — Meenal Vamburkar