One of the world’s leading ransomware attack networks has been taken down

took the cooperation of FBI, Europol, German and Dutch police must bring them down. American and German authorities announced Thursday the dismantling of one of the main attack networks Ransomware Globally, the so-called “Hive” was accused of targeting around 1,500 companies in 80 countries. “Last night, the Department of Justice broke up an international ransomware ring that threatened or attempted to extort millions of dollars from victims,” ​​Minister Merrick Garland said at a press conference. Washington.

First discovered in June 2021, the criminal group Hive was accused of collecting over $100 million in ransoms. After penetrating a computer system, ransomware hackers encrypt corporate data and demand payment to unlock it. According to specialized agencies Internet securityHive ransomware, or “ransomware” in English, has been used against US hospitals, German electronics store Telemark and Indian conglomerate Tata.

“We Hacked Hackers”

The group’s servers were seized and federal police seized control of its site. Dark web “The part of the web that’s not being addressed by regular browsers,” he said. “We hacked the hackers”, welcomed the number 2 of the US Department of Justice, Lisa Monaco. “For months, we helped victims fight back against their abusers and deprived the network of its criminal profits,” he said.

By June, the FBI had successfully penetrated Hive’s networks and recovered its encryption key, which it distributed to victims around the world in the following months. The Federal Police has distributed copies of these keys to former Hive victims to fully recover their data.

“Unfortunately, in these seven months, we discovered that only 20% of hive victims alerted the police,” lamented the head of the FBI, calling on all agencies and organizations to contact his agents as soon as an incident occurs. attack The site Stuttgart, in Germany, the operation, dubbed “Dawnbreaker”, has its source in an investigation opened by its services after attacks against businesses in the region, according to a statement. However, they “did not succumb to blackmail and informed the authorities,” he added.

“It has been proven once again that intensive and mutually trusting cooperation across borders and continents is the key to an effective fight against serious cybercrimes,” said Udo Vogel, Chief of the Rietlingen Police (Southwest).Germany), quoted in the press release.