United States, Hive taken down: One of the main international networks of ransomware attacks. “We Hacked Hackers”

The US Department of Justice announced that the group had been disbanded Hive RansomwareExtorted more than 100 million dollars from more than 1,500 people and companies around the world, from about 80 countries, and from Italian companies. The same ransomware system will be used for thisHacker attack on Trenitalia Last March.

“Last night, the Justice Department took down an international network Ransomware “Responsible for attempting to extort hundreds of millions of dollars not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world,” the Attorney General declared. Merrick Garland At a press conference.

The servers of the group, considered one of the world’s leading ransomware attack networks, were seized, and the federal police took control of their site on the darkweb, that is, on Internet content that is not encoded by traditional browsers. The director of the US Federal Police (FBI) explained that the operation was carried out in collaboration with German and Dutch police forces and Europol. Christopher Wray.

First discovered in June 2021, the Hive Crime Group is alleged to have raised more than $100 million in ransoms. After penetrating a computer system, ransomware hackers encrypt the company’s data and demand payment to unlock it. According to cybersecurity firms, the Hive ransomware was used against several US hospitals, targeting German electronics store Telemark and Indian conglomerate Tata.

In June, the FBI hacked into Hive’s networks and was able to retrieve the cryptographic key by communicating it to victims around the world over the following months, allowing them to avoid paying a $130 million ransom, Christopher Ray explained. “Unfortunately, we discovered that during these seven months, only 20% of hive victims were infected. reported the attack To the police,” the FBI chief explained, calling on all agencies and organizations to contact his agents in the event of an incident.

Attorney’s office Stuttgart, in Germany, the operation, called “Dawnbreaker”, started from an investigation opened by its offices after some attacks received by companies in the region. “Once again, vigorous and trust-based cooperation across borders and continents has been shown to be the key to effectively combating major cybercrimes,” he said. Udo Vogel, Chief of Police of Reutlingen (Southwest Germany). “We hacked the hackers,” Justice No. 2 said Lisa Monk. “For months, we have been helping victims fight back against their attacks and dismantle the network of its criminal profits,” he concluded.