Ransomware operators are holding Torrance city’s systems at ransom as they threaten to leak file archives allegedly stolen from the city during the ransomware attack. Torrance officials are reluctant to comment, but reports show that the LA suburb was indeed the victim of a ransomware hack last month. The DoppelPaymer hacking group that took responsibility for the attack published samples of the stolen data on its site, which reportedly includes city budget financials, accounting documents, an archive of documents belonging to the City Manager, and more.
“Hackers demand a ransom of 100 Bitcoin.”
According to BleepingComputer, the hackers are demanding a ransom of 100 Bitcoin, which is roughly $700,000, at the time, to keep the data private and hand the city the decryption keys to unfreeze their malware-tainted systems. The hackers reportedly encrypted no less than 200GB of sensitive city’s data. The city officials have so far remained quiet. However, it is perhaps no coincidence that several reports came out in March regarding a cyberattack on the City of Torrance. But if the reports are to be believed, this is the incident in question.
FBI issues warning against increasing COVID 19 related scams.
Earlier, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning saying fraudsters are about to unleash a surge of coronavirus crypto scams. The FBI warned that scammers would tailor their pitch to the current situation, and even pose as newly-remote workers collecting “donations” via email, or some might also pose as charities that accept cryptocurrency, as reported earlier. Ransomware cases around the world have increased many folds since the crypto industry has gone more widespread over the years.
The FBI advised people to use common sense and stay away from suspicious emails or advertisements that lure you into investing funds by promising massive benefits and also report blackmail and extortion attempts to law enforcement. Scammers are leveraging increased fear and panic during the time of pandemic to defraud people of their money.
