It appeared to be another typical ransomware attack that impacted the city of Columbus, Ohio, this past July. Connor Goodwolf (legal name is David Leroy Ross) is an IT consultant who plumbs the dark web as part of his job. So when word got out that the city of Columbus, his hometown, had been breached, Goodwolf did what he does: he poked around online. "Lawsuits against data security researchers are rare," said Raymond Ku, professor of law at Case Western Reserve University. Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said during a September press conference that the case was "not about freedom of speech or whistleblowing.

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