According to a posting on a dark web site, a ransom of $70 million was requested by the hackers behind the mass extortion attack that affected hundreds of companies worldwide late on Sunday, in order to restore the data they are holding.
The ransom request was posted on a blog typically used by the REvil, a Russia-linked cybercrime gang that is counted among the cybercriminal world’s most prolific extortionists, Reuters writes.
Allan Liska of cybersecurity firm Recorded Future points that the message “almost certainly” came from REvil’s core leadership although the gang has an affiliate structure, making it difficult to determine who speaks on the hackers’ behalf.
The newest target of REvil’s ransomware attack, supposedly executed on Friday but surfaced in public on Sunday, was Miami-based information technology firm Kaseya and a series of its clients and clients’ clients, setting off a chain reaction that quickly paralyzed hundreds of firms worldwide.
According to an executive at Kaseya, the company is aware of the ransom demand.
The White House said earlier on Sunday it was reaching out to victims of the outbreak to provide assistance based upon an assessment of national risk, but the impact of the intrusion is yet to come into focus.
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