WorldLeaks Ransomware Group Breaches City of LA, Disrupts Metro System; Foster City Declares State of Emergency

The WorldLeaks extortion group — a Hunters International rebrand that abandoned encryption for pure data theft — claimed 159.9 GB (779 files) from the City of Los Angeles on March 20. The same day, unauthorized activity hit LA Metro's internal systems, forcing station monitors offline and disrupting arrival-time displays. Separately, Foster City in the Bay Area declared a state of emergency after ransomware disabled all non-emergency municipal services; 911 and police dispatch remained operational. WorldLeaks has claimed hundreds of victims since pivoting to extortion-only operations in 2025, targeting municipal governments that often lack dedicated incident response teams.