A new ransomware attack wreaked havoc last week among Ukrainian companies. The hacking group in question was dubbed as NotPetya due to their similarities and differences from the Petya virus. The attack managed to lock up computers at multi-billion dollar organizations. The group broke the silence for the first time to present their demands. They asked for $250,000 from each victim.
The NotPetya Hacking Group Wants 100 Bitcoin from Each Victim
On Tuesday, hackers behind the NotPetya attack posted a note on the dark web where they listed their demands. This group of cybercriminals is also called GoldenEye. Their main wish was for a payment of 100 bitcoin from each victim. If the concerned parties agree, they will obtain the key that can unlock all files that fell victim to the malware. Even though this requirement seems reasonable at first sight, the bitcoin actually came to value a total of $2,600.
It all started last week when the NotPetya malware found a back door into computers across Kiev, Ukraine. From this point, the infection spread to important networks such as the national electrical grid, government offices, and airport systems. There were other multinational organizations that became targets, such as Merck, AP Moller-Maersk, Cadbury, but also FedEx as well. These four enterprises alone value around $130 billion together. Other ransomware attacks can affect even traffic cameras.
The Key that Unlocks Encrypted Software Might Not Work For All
Despite such large proportions, some experts believe that this hacking group is just a façade for countries. They blame some governments from hiding behind masked hackers. These malevolent parties presumably intended to just destroy data without any possibility of retrieval on behalf of owners.
On the other hand, even though the victims of such a cyber attack agree to pay the price, they might still not get everything they want back. That’s because the miraculous key can’t actually decrypt everything that’s on a hard drive. Therefore, some digital assets might be lost forever.
There is still no word of any party answering these requests. However, authorities haven’t registered any transactions of bitcoin of that amount.
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