Hacker group asks for $50 million in bitcoin after attack on…

All European branches of the German group, numbering more than a thousand, were subjected to a cyber attack yesterday. The news was reported by the Dutch RTL News, who said she relied on internal emails she was able to view. It will be mentioned that computers can no longer be used in stores. They would also have been required to remove internet cables from the cash registers and not restart the systems.

still according to RTL News It is related to the cybercriminal group Hive, which is requesting $50 million (€43 million) in bitcoin. Negotiations will now take place, but a Belgian spokesperson for Mediamarkt responds Standard They are “rumours”.

It is not new that hackers demand ransom in bitcoin. In July of this year, ITxx, an ICT company in Antwerp, paid cybercriminals $300,000 (more than €250,000) in bitcoin.

• Even libraries are targets for cyberattack

criminal organization

For years, the Center for Cyber ​​Security has advised against paying ransoms to cybercrime organizations. At that moment you are negotiating with a criminal organization. You never know if you will recover encrypted data or if the organization will leave a trail,” says Catherine Eggers of the Center for Cyber ​​Security.

How many companies in Belgium are affected by such ramsomware (Malware that hijacks files, editor.), is not clear. “There is no obligation to report,” Eggers says.

An international report issued by British insurance company Hiscox last May showed that more than four out of ten (42 percent) Belgian companies were affected by at least one cyber attack in the past year.