US authorities announced on Thursday January 26 the dismantling of one of the main ransomware attack networks in the world, dubbed “Hive”, accused of having targeted 1,500 entities in 80 countries.
“Last night, the Department of Justice busted an international ransomware ring that extorted or attempted to extort millions of dollars from its victims,” Minister Merrick Garland said at a press conference.
The group’s servers were seized and the federal police took control of its site on the “dark web”, the part of the Internet not referenced by conventional browsers, he said.
$100 million ransom
The operation was carried out in coordination with German and Dutch police forces, as well as Europol, added FBI Director Christopher Wray.
First detected in June 2021, the criminal group Hive is accused of collecting more than $100 million in ransom. After infiltrating a computer system, ransomware hackers encrypt corporate data and demand payment to unlock it.
According to firms specializing in cybersecurity, Hive ransomware, or “ransomware” in English, has been deployed against American hospitals, the German chain of electronics stores Telemarkt and the Indian giant Tata. In November, US authorities issued a warning bulletin about him to help potential victims cope with these attacks.
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