Snatch ransom gang leaks personal information of its celebrity customers to the dark web after UK luxury farm store Daylesford refuses to pay ransom

After unsuccessfully attempting to extort the UK's most exclusive farm stores, Russian-based extortion group Snatch allegedly posted on the dark web the details of celebrity clients such as Jeremy Clarkson, the famous British TV presenter, and Sir David Attenborough, the "father of world nature documentaries. The Cotswolds' luxury farm shop

Cotswold luxury farm store Daylesford Organic is said to have been targeted by a blackmail gang called Snatch, named after the 2000 film Snatch, starring Jason Statham and directed by Guy Ritchie, which is set in London's criminal underworld and has a fanatical following .

The Gloucestershire-based company, known as the UK's poshest farm store, was long ago the target of a hack by a blackmail group, which used cyber attacks to infiltrate the company's internal network and then secretly collect user data.

A number of companies in the United States, Canada and Europe have already been targeted by the Snatch ransom group, with the extortion typically occurring some time after the initial hack. Now, the Gloucestershire company, which also has four satellite stores and an online presence in London, is said to have fallen victim to the group's latest release. Some 80GB of stolen files have been uploaded to the dark web after Daylesford refused to pay a bitcoin ransom.

It is said to include celebrities such as Jeremy Clarkson, a regular Daylesford customer, which inspired him to set up the Diddly Squat Farm store for his Amazon TV series Clarkson's Farm. Former girlfriend Philippa Page revealed in her book that it was his favorite store, recounting her time spent with the former Top Gear presenter.

Other famous victims are said to include Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, tennis star Tim Henman and snooker ace Ronnie O'Sullivan. The documents also reportedly include employee grievances, confidentiality agreements and banking information, as well as information about the owners.

The company is owned by the influential Ms. Carole Bamford, wife of JCB billionaire Sir Bamford. The Conservative donor recently hosted the wedding of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Carrie Symonds at Daylesford House, his home in the Cotswolds. Details of Mr Johnson have not been published on the dark web, although he delivered Daylesford to 10 Downing Street during the epidemic, the report said.

The company revealed it was hacked in June 2021, and hackers have now released personal details and delivery slips showing the home addresses of some of the rich and famous customers who used the store.

A spokeswoman for the company said on Monday: "Daylesford Organic was the victim of a cyber attack in June 2021. It was reported to the ICO at the time and thoroughly investigated by the ICO and there have been no further incidents since.Daylesford Organic takes the protection of customer data very seriously and has taken additional security measures to protect the business following the 2021 attack."

Cyber attacks are on the rise, with Russian hackers blamed for attacking Gloucester City Council's computer systems last December. The security firm said the group spoke Russian and that Daylesford was the very company they wanted to hold for financial ransom and "provide information useful to the Kremlin."

Daylesford has not yet responded to a request for comment, but the Information Commissioner's Office said, "Daylesford Organics made us aware of an incident. After reviewing the information, we provided data protection advice and closed the case."