Calculating The Ransom Demand On The Victim’s Insurance
In an innovative move, the ransomware group HardBit has offered to set ransom its demands based on the victims’ cyber insurance coverage. Organisations that have been targeted by HardBit's ransomware typically have their files encrypted.
HardBit 2.0 says it steals files from compromised networks, encrypts the data it leaves behind, and demands a crypto currency ransom be paid, with the threat that company confidential data will be released online.
It is likely that the organisation’s main motivation is to steal victim’s data, however, security researchers have not identified a live website where the group leaks data and names their targets. Additionally, security researchers state that the group does not specify a ransom price in the notes it drops on compromised systems. Instead, the company is told to contact the hackers via email or an instant messaging platform hosted on the deep web browser, Tor.
When a victim has cyber insurance, the hackers ask them to provide details so they can set the ransom amount accordingly. HardBit say they do not want to demand more than what the victim can recover from the insurance company, but they also don’t want to be offered a low amount by the insurer’s representatives.
HardBit’s ransom demand even goes as far to say that sharing the insurance details is beneficial and insurers stand in the way of data recovery.
However, the cyber criminals behind HardBit warn that if payment is not made victims will not only never have access to their files again, but are warned that their company will be attacked again in the future. Furthermore, if payment or negotiations have not begun within 48 hours, HardBit warns that the ransom will be doubled.
The ransom message left behind on compromised systems does not specify how much the victim has to pay to recover its files. Instead, the targeted company is instructed to contact the hackers through email or the Tox instant messaging platform. However, the note does contain some important information about paying the ransom, specifically for victims that have a cyber insurance policy covering ransomware attacks
To fight ransomware attacks, it's important to report them to law enforcement and make sure you have offsite backups in place so you can easily recover your files.
To protect your systems from similar incidents in the future, always be cautious when opening unsolicited emails and attachments, and avoid visiting potentially malicious websites. Keep your security software updated as well so it can properly detect and remove malware.
Varonis: NeoWin: Tripwire: Security Week: Oodaloop: NetSec News:
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