February 16 2025. Letter to the Editor in Response to the Letter to the Editor published February 14 Inside View of the Ransomware Attack from the Hackers.
Dear Editor,
We are reaching out in response to your recently published letter https://www.saulttribeguardian.com/tribal-members-inside-view-of-the-ransomware-attack/ regarding the cyber incident involving the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Your article does not accurately represent the situation, and we would like to provide our side of the events in order to clarify certain misconceptions.
The attack did occur on February 9, and since that time, we have made multiple attempts to contact the Tribal Board of Directors. They have received detailed instructions via phone voicemails, corporate and personal emails, and internal network messages. Despite these numerous efforts, no representative from the Sault Tribe has initiated any communication with us. Therefore, the reported $5 million ransom figure is purely speculative, as no negotiations have taken place.
Furthermore, our technology is fully capable of restoring the affected network and infrastructure within 24 hours. It remains unclear why the Tribe's leadership has not reached out to discuss the necessary steps to resolve this situation.
Additionally, the financial situation of the Tribe is sufficient to cover the expenses associated with this cyberattack. We confirm possession of over 100 gigabytes of confidential data, consisting of more than 500,000 files. The Tribe's failure to act raises serious questions about its leadership's priorities and intentions regarding this matter.
We have also seen mentions of a dismissed IT professional. If this information is accurate, he performed his duties correctly - the network was reasonably well-protected. However, a single IT specialist is not sufficient to manage and defend an infrastructure of this scale. A robust cybersecurity strategy requires a dedicated team of specialists.
Moreover, the Sault Tribe holds at least three separate cyber insurance policies, which, under standard industry practice, would usually facilitate communication between affected entities and cybersecurity incident handlers. Why no insurance representative has contacted us remains a mystery.
To be clear, we had no intention of harming the Tribe - our motives are purely financial. This incident could have been resolved within a few days following the attack. However, given the Tribe's complete lack of engagement, we are forced to conclude that the leadership may find this attack beneficial, potentially as a means to obscure financial mismanagement or past misconduct.
If no contact is made, the exfiltrated data will be made publicly available on February 19. This will inevitably result in far greater financial and reputational damage than an amicable resolution could have prevented.
The email provided a link to the data that we are not publishing or have verified.
Sincerely,
[Hackers]
This letter was received from an email addresses listed as info@lunxsup.com. The email address or the author of the response to the February 14 2025 Letter to the Editor has been authenticated.
Editorial Comments -
Dear Hackers ,
Welcome to our world, the tribal board ignores members too.
We appreciate your outreach and would also appreciate your mercy on our employees and members personal information if you happen to publish the tribe's records as mentioned.
Other Notes: We believe the Tribe does have an IT Team, we have not confirmed this but lean into believing the person mentioned in the letter you are responding to was hired as the department manager, moved across the country to work for the tribe then quit...?????? Not a confirmed fact only conjecture based on the February 14 Letter information that sounded about right.
Disclaimer -
The Sault Tribe Guardian Legal Disclaimer : The statements above are unverified and only published as a "Letter to the Editor." We are not liable for any statements or actions as a result of these statements.
To issue a statement regarding this letter email news@saulttribeguardian.com.
