Hackers attacked MediaMarkt and demanded a $50 million Bitcoin ransom

MediaMarkt hit by Hive ransomware; $50 million Bitcoin ransom demanded.

The European electronics and household appliances retailer MediaMarkt was hit by a Hive ransomware attack. Hackers are demanding $50 million in Bitcoin, according to Retail Detail.

The initial ransom was $240 million, but it fell automatically once negotiations began, according to BleepingComputer.

As a result, servers and workstations were encrypted. This prompted the shutdown of IT systems to prevent its spread.

The incident affected many stores in the network, mainly in the Netherlands and Germany. MediaMarkt operates more than 1,000 stores in 13 countries. The company employs around 53,000 people, with annual revenue exceeding €20 billion.

According to the publication, around 3,100 of the retailer’s servers were affected.

Hive not only encrypts data but typically steals it as well. Hackers post files on their HiveLeaks data-leak site if they do not receive a ransom. It is unclear whether MediaMarkt’s data was stolen.

“The MediaMarktSaturn Retail group and its national subsidiaries have been the target of a cyberattack. The company immediately informed the relevant authorities and is working at full capacity to identify the affected systems and to remedy any damage as quickly as possible,” they told the publication in response to a request.

In May, the world”s largest meatpacker JBS and the operator of the East Coast fuel pipeline Colonial Pipeline were hit by a ransomware attack in the United States.

The first paid the hackers a ransom of $11 million in Bitcoin.

Colonial Pipeline transferred 75 BTC (about $5 million at the time) to the attackers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recovered a large portion of the ransom paid by the company — 63.7 BTC.

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