Global cyber attack: Hackers demand 70 million ransom

After the global cyber attack on a US company, the hacker group “REvil” demanded a ransom of 70 million US dollars. The attack had paralyzed thousands of companies in a domino effect.

The group “REvil” allegedly behind the hacking attack on the US company Kaseya demands a ransom of $ 70 million. The amount should be paid in the digital currency Bitcoin, it said in a blog entry by the group. Then data should be released again. An expert from cybersecurity firm Recorded Future said the entry appeared to be real. The group has been running the blog since last year.

Thousands of companies around the world may have been paralyzed in the extortionate hacker attack since Friday afternoon. The hacker group “REvil” is suspected of having hijacked the desktop management tool VSA from Kaseya and installed a malicious update that infects thousands of customers of the US tech management provider. Entire accounting systems were blocked by the hacker’s encryption.

German companies also affected

German companies were also hit by the hacker attack. An affected IT service provider from Germany reported to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Its customers have been affected, said a BSI spokesman. There are several thousand computers in several companies. It cannot be ruled out that other companies encountered problems at the start of the working week.

The consequences were also felt in Sweden, where the Coop supermarket chain had to close almost all stores. The full extent of the damage is still unclear. Security experts currently speak of around 1000 companies in which systems have been encrypted. “REvil” claims that more than a million computers have been infected.

Not REvil’s first attack

Kaseya has now hired cybersecurity company FireEye Inc to deal with the aftermath of the attack. Miami-based Kaseya announced on its website that its employees were actively working with FireEye and other security firms in investigating the attack that has affected hundreds of companies around the world. US President Joe Biden also ordered an investigation into the attack by the secret services.

The REvil group, which is located by experts in Russia, was already behind the attack on the world’s largest meat company JBS a few weeks ago, which as a result had to close plants in the USA for several days. JBS paid the attackers the equivalent of eleven million dollars in cryptocurrencies.