The Hacking group REvil, which were behind the mass ransomware attacks that took place over this weekend, and which resulted in a dozen different countries being affected, may have just bitten off more than they can chew.
The sophisticated hacking technique resulted in the hackers hijacking one piece of software to compromise hundreds of users in one fell swoop. The victims of this attack were a number of small to medium sized businesses, which included hundreds of American businesses.
The initial demands of $70 million by the gang are now ‘open to negotiation’ according to one source, Jack Cable of the cybersecurity-focused Krebs Stamos Group, who spoke to Reuters and revealed he had contacted with one of the gang’s affiliates who said he could sell a “universal decrypter” for $50 million.
REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, have claimed responsibility for a ransomware attack that saw their date-scrambling software affect hundreds of businesses in several different countries.
In their ransom note, REvil stated that if the ransom fee is not paid by the 10th July, the fee will double. However, following the recent revelations by Cable, it seems like the hackers may be willing to compromise.
Another flaw to the legitimacy of the hackers ransom, is that they seemingly targeted a number of organisations accidently. One of these includes a Kindergarten chain in New Zealand.
On Monday the Kindergarden chain revealed the following:
“Of the 11 schools (out of roughly 2,500) we initially identified as possibly having been impacted by this global ransomware attack:
- Two have confirmed they are not impacted as they have not used this software for some time
- Two have confirmed they use the software and have been impacted by ransomware. They have taken steps to contain the issue which may have a short-term operational impact. There is no evidence of data loss at this stage
- Seven also use the software but have no evidence of impact and have shut down the impacted services as a precautionary measure.”
The group responded to this particular attack on the New Zealand schools stating it was “an accident”. Demonstrating, their innability to control all elements of their attack.
The scale of the attack by REvil is enormous, however it is the very scope of the atack that may lead to their eventual downfall. In the meanwhile, a number of security services and governments have been responding to this, with the White House stating that it would be reaching out to the victims “to provide assistance based upon an assessment of national risk.”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
