Hackers demand $5.9 million in cryptocurrency from a U.S. food company

The BlackMatter hacker group, allegedly tied to Russia, attacked an American company, New Cooperative, based in Iowa, which supplies grain to farms. сообщает The Washington Post.

Using malware, the attackers encrypted New Cooperative’s data and stole 1 TB of files, including invoices, research-and-development documents, and the source code for soil-mapping technology.

The hackers demanded a ransom of $5.9 million in cryptocurrency by September 25, threatening to publish the stolen data.

New Cooperative shut down its computer networks to contain the breach and continue operations.

Cybersecurity researchers believe that BlackMatter is the new name for the DarkSide hacking group, previously linked to Russia. In May, DarkSide announced that it had halted operations due to pressure from U.S. authorities.

Earlier in July, cybersecurity experts reported as late as the end of July that the attackers were seeking opportunities to purchase access to networks of large companies in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Their interests spanned all sectors except healthcare and the public sector. The hackers offered from $3,000 to $100,000 for network access, as well as a share of any potential ransom.

For more on the series of ransomware attacks on U.S. infrastructure, see ForkLog’s special report.

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