Acer suffers the biggest ransomware attack in recent years, and they have until March 28 to pay $50 million.
Acer, the Taiwan-based computer giant, has suffered an alleged ransomware attack that is demanding $50 million, the largest amount demanded this type of attack so far.
One of the main security threats facing organizations is ransomware attacks, a system lockdown and information theft that hackers carry out to amass millions of dollars and which over the last few years have moved away from being a consumer-facing attack and are focusing more on organizations of all types. The ransomware attack was the work of REvil, the same people behind the attack on foreign exchange company Travelex last year.
The attackers gained access to the manufacturer’s network through a Microsoft Exchange vulnerability. The attackers have given Acer until March 28th to pay the ransom or else they will leak all the data stolen in the attack.
The attackers have shared several images of alleged documents they have managed to steal in the attack including financial spreadsheets, bank balances, and banking communications.
While Acer has not provided a clear answer as to whether they suffered a ransomware attack exactly, they have issued a press release to the media reporting “recent abnormal situations”.
They comment in the release that “Acer routinely monitors its IT systems and most cyber attacks are well defended against. Companies like us are constantly under attack, and we have reported recent abnormal situations observed to relevant law enforcement and data protection authorities in several countries.”
They continue, “We have been continuously improving our cybersecurity infrastructure to protect business continuity and the integrity of our information. We urge all businesses and organizations to adhere to cybersecurity disciplines and best practices, and be vigilant for any anomalies in network activity.”
They add that there is an ongoing investigation and for the sake of security they are not going to share details about it.
From lemagit, they seem to have discovered an image about this ransomware attack, and it looks like this:
The attackers offered a 20% discount if payment was made before last Wednesday. What stands out most about this ransomware demand is the 50 million they are asking for, given that it is the largest ransom known to date.
