Multinational firm paid ransom in bitcoins to hackers who broke into systems

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/04/hackers-extorted-multinational-firm-in-australia-and-threatened-employee

By Joshua Robertson
The Guardian
3 June 2015

Hackers extorted an international company based in Brisbane for a ransom 
paid out in bitcoin but then escalated their demands by threatening online 
attacks on a senior employee’s child, Queensland police have said.

The company, which police refused to identify, paid the hackers an initial 
ransom worth thousands of dollars after its computer system was hacked and 
sensitive data stolen earlier this year.

When the company refused a further larger ransom demand and contacted 
police, hackers then “profiled a senior member of the organisation, 
identified their family and threatened to discredit members of his family 
through online attacks particularly targeting a child”, police said.

The case prompted acting assistant commissioner Brian Hay to warn that 
businesses should never give in to extortion demands but also be wary of 
posting personal information on social media that could be exploited as 
leverage by cyber criminals.

[...]

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