Cyber Incident Victim: Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP
Date:
Mar 2021
Location:
United States of America
Summary
The website of a law firm representing a former political aide involved in a high-profile investigation into alleged sexual harassment by a New York governor was hacked and temporarily taken offline. Attackers replaced the site's content with a splash page displaying "AGENT-TEST" for several hours before service was restored. The incident impacted Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP, whose client was central to ongoing scrutiny of the governor's conduct, though no specific data compromise or motive was disclosed in initial reports.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On March 6, 2021, the website of law firm Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP (kmblegal.com) was compromised and rendered inaccessible following a hacking incident. The attack occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, disrupting normal website operations. Visitors attempting to access the site were redirected to a splash page displaying only the text "AGENT-TEST" for multiple hours. The firm, which represents Charlotte Bennett in the sexual harassment investigation against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, experienced complete website downtime during this period. No additional content or messages appeared on the defaced page beyond this cryptic phrase. The disruption lasted until late Saturday morning when service was partially restored. At the time of reporting, no group had claimed responsibility for the attack, and the specific method of intrusion remained undisclosed by the firm or investigators.
The law firm managed to restore basic website functionality by late morning on March 6, though details about their remediation process were not publicly documented. The incident drew attention due to the firm's high-profile representation of Bennett, a former Cuomo aide whose allegations contributed to the governor's harassment investigation. While the hack temporarily disrupted the firm's online presence, no evidence suggested client data or internal systems were compromised beyond the public-facing website disruption. The "AGENT-TEST" message displayed during the outage provided no clear indication of the attackers' motives or identity. The timing coincided with heightened media scrutiny surrounding the Cuomo investigation, though no direct connection between the hack and the legal case was established in available reports. Service restoration concluded the immediate operational impact, with no further disruptions reported in subsequent public coverage of the incident.