US shuts down major ransomware network Hive, helping almost 300 victims
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In a statement on Thursday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Department of Justice had dismantled “an international ransomware network responsible for extorting and attempting to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from victims”.
The Hive ransomware operation, which had extorted more than US$100 million from more than 1,500 victims worldwide, had been shut down, according to a statement from the US Justice Department on Thursday (January 26).
In a statement, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Department of Justice had dismantled “an international ransomware network responsible for extorting and attempting to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from victims.”
US authorities, along with Dutch and German law enforcement, acquired control of Hive's website and servers after roughly seven months of infiltration, as per US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Companies were able to escape having to pay extortion demands for US$130 million made after Hive hacked and froze their data systems due to the invasion.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco called the operation to infiltrate Hive a “21st-century cyber stakeout.” “We hacked the hackers,” she said.
Hive functioned as a ransomware service, which let anybody use its software and other services to break into, lock down, and accept payments for a target's IT systems. Hive and the client would split the extortion's profits.
More than 1,500 companies and organisations have been compromised since Hive's debut in 2021, with backup files being erased or rendered inaccessible and IT systems or databases encrypted by Hive.
(With inputs from agencies)
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