Hackers demand $70m for data stolen from hundreds of companies

A group of suspected hackers are demanding a $70 million ransom to restore data they are holding on to after a recent data pirate spree.

The hackers had, on Sunday, launched a mass extortionate data attack that affected hundreds of companies worldwide, ranging from small to big corporations.

According to local media in Russia, the ransom demand was posted on a blog linked to REvil, a cybercrime gang notorious in Russia.

Today, with more hackers from the U.S. and China, international cybersecurity experts listed the Russian group among the cybercriminal world’s most prolific extortionists.

Read also: Digital currency investors suffer $6.2m loss after hackers’ attack

Although, the gang has an affiliate structure, occasionally making it difficult to identify who speaks on the hackers’ behalf, but Allan Liska of cybersecurity firm, Recorded Future, said the message “almost certainly” came from REvil’s core leadership.

While the group is yet to issue a follow up response after their demands, intelligence is underway towards exposing the group.

In a similar fashion, before the Sunday data harvest, the gang broke into Kaseya, a Miami-based information technology firm, and used their access to breach some of its clients’ accounts, setting off a chain reaction that quickly paralyzed the computers of hundreds of firms worldwide.

Companies hit in the recent attack included schools, small public sector bodies, travel and leisure organizations, credit unions and accountants.

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