REvil Gang Demands $70M Bitcoin in Ransom

The REvil gang that recently crippled numerous companies has made its move. The ransomware group has asked the companies to provide $70 million worth of Bitcoin. In return, the gang will deliver a universal decryptor that has over 1 million infected systems.

U.Today covered the report stating how thousands of companies were affected by an attack over the weekend. REvil landed the supply chain attack at Kaseya, a software company connected with numerous companies globally.

After the attack, the gang infected multiple VSA servers used to manage computers remotely. Now that they have gained control over the systems, over a million computers are at stake. REvil, the ransomware gang behind the attack, initiated its demands from 45,000 dollars Monero.

However, they recently changed their proposition to $70 million worth of Bitcoin. The crypto industry already suffered two big blows in May, with Tesla refusing to accept Bitcoin and China imposing a ban on crypto usage by banks. The adverse development has again circled cryptocurrencies despite its direct involvement.

Eric Swalwell (Democratic Lawmaker) urged Congress to assess crypto’s role in the attack. Joe Biden, the current US President, already commenced a federal investigation even before the REvil gang took credit for the attack.

This is not the first time the Russian ransomware gang has landed a successful attack. A month back, they infected JBS, the biggest meat supplier worldwide. JBS serves over 1/5th of America’s total beef share, making it a target for the gang. The situation wrapped up with JBS paying 11 million dollars to REvil.

As of now, there is no public disclosure of the gang. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined Kaseya to investigate the attackers. The agency landed an immense success in May, where they recovered a major part of the ransom paid to DarkSide, another ransomware group.

DarkSide attacked the Colonial Pipeline and also asked for Bitcoin for ransom. However, the FBI recovered a chunk of the ransom from their clutch. The amount asked by REvil is the highest ransomware in Bitcoin to date.

With the crypto sector destabilized, news like this is further hurting its reputation. Cryptocurrencies are known for their decentralized nature, and it seems the attackers are banking on the attribute as well.

REvil, the infamous Russian ransomware gang, recently attacked Kaseya, a software company, over the weekend. The gang managed to infiltrate multiple VSA servers, gaining control of over a million systems. The attack affects thousands of companies, and the ransomware gang is asking for $70 million worth of ransom in return. The FBI has already started investigating the event with Kaseya. Seeing the agency’s recent success against DarkSide, things do not appear completely grim for the affected companies. However, such proceedings are hurting the already destabilized crypto industry.