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Fortune 500 Company Hires Ransomware Gang To Hack the Competition (vice.com)

Posted by msmash on from the security-woes dept.

It's no secret that ransomware hackers are in the business to make money. But a new business arrangement hitting the news today may surprise many. Vice's Motherboard, citing research and investigation (PDF) from security firm F-Secure, is reporting that a Fortune 500 company, the name of which hasn't been unveiled, hired a ransomware gang to hack its competitors. From the article: In an exchange with a security researcher pretending to be a victim, one ransomware agent claimed they were working for a Fortune 500 company. "We are hired by [a] corporation to cyber disrupt day-to-day business of their competition," the customer support agent of a ransomware known as Jigsaw said, according to a new report by security firm F-Secure. "The purpose was just to lock files to delay a corporation's production time to allow our clients to introduce a similar product into the market first."In a statement to Motherboard, Mikko Hypponen said, "If this indeed was a case where ransomware was used on purpose to disrupt a competitor's operation, it's the only case we know of." F-Secure adds that the consumer representative noted that "politicians, governments, husbands, wives -- people from all walks of life contract [them] to hack computers, cell phones."

4 of 65 comments (clear)

  1. Consider the source by GrumpySteen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Someone working with a ransomware scammer might not be the most trustworthy source of information.

  2. And nobody will be punished... by sconeu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Assuming this is true...

    What should happen is that the "genius" who thought this up should be convicted and sent to prison for 30 years (or whatever they threatened Aaron Swartz with), for breaking the CFAA.

    What actually will happen is that $BIGCORP will get a trivial slap-on-the-wrist fine.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    1. Re:And nobody will be punished... by geek · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Assuming this is true...

      What should happen is that the "genius" who thought this up should be convicted and sent to prison for 30 years (or whatever they threatened Aaron Swartz with), for breaking the CFAA.

      What actually will happen is that $BIGCORP will get a trivial slap-on-the-wrist fine.

      Punished for what? The article doesn't even describe a single attack, let alone a victim or perpetrator. This is like someone in high school saying "My cousins best friends brothers girlfriend heard that someone down the street smoked a joint 6 months ago"

  3. Re:Serious, if proven true by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If evidence exists that this event happened, the corporation that directed the attack needs to have all of their top executive imprisoned.

    Either that, or they'll be punished with a huge bonus and limos stocked with underage hookers and blow.

    Guess which one is more likely to happen.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...