“Only individuals willing to navigate and interact with the criminal element on the dark web, who also have the computer expertise and tools necessary to download data from the dark web, would be able to do so,” city attorneys wrote. “The dark web-posted data is not readily available for public consumption. Defendant is making it so.”
The same day, a Franklin County judge granted the city’s motion for a temporary restraining order against Ross. It bars the researcher “from accessing, and/or downloading, and/or disseminating” any city files that were posted to the dark web. The motion was made and granted “ex parte,” meaning in secret before Ross was informed of it or had an opportunity to present his case.
In a press conference Thursday, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein defended his decision to sue Ross and obtain the restraining order.
“This is not about freedom of speech or whistleblowing,” he said. “This is about the downloading and disclosure of stolen criminal investigatory records. This effect is to get [Ross] to stop downloading and disclosing stolen criminal records to protect public safety.”
The Columbus city attorney’s office didn’t respond to questions sent by email. It did provide the following statement:
The lawsuit filed by the City of Columbus pertains to stolen data that Mr. Ross downloaded from the dark web to his own, local device and disseminated to the media. In fact, several outlets used the stolen data provided by Ross to go door-to-door and contact individuals using names and addresses contained within the stolen data. As has now been extensively reported, Mr. Ross also showed multiple news outlets stolen, confidential data belonging to the City which he claims reveal the identities of undercover police officers and crime victims as well as evidence from active criminal investigations. Sharing this stolen data threatens public safety and the integrity of the investigations. The temporary restraining order granted by the Court prohibits Mr. Ross from disseminating any of the City’s stolen data. Mr. Ross is still free to speak about the cyber incident and even describe what kind of data is on the dark web—he just cannot disseminate that data.
Attempts to reach Ross for comment were unsuccessful. Email sent to the Columbus mayor’s office went unanswered.
A screenshot showing the Rhysida dark web site.
A screenshot showing the Rhysida dark web site.
As shown above in the screenshot of the Rhysida dark web site on Friday morning, the sensitive data remains available to anyone who looks for it. Friday’s order may bar Ross from accessing the data or disseminating it to reporters, but it has no effect on those who plan to use the data for malicious purposes.
