Royal Mail Refuses To Pay LockBit Ransom Demand

Uploaded on 2023-02-15 in TECHNOLOGY--Hackers, NEWS-News Analysis, FREE TO VIEW

Royal Mail has refused to pay hackers the £66m they have been demanded by LockBit, the Russia-linked cyber hacking gang. LockBit has published what it claims is the full transcript of its negotiations with Royal Mail for a £66m ($80m) ransom payment.

The hackers had threatened to publish all stolen data on February 9th if their demands were not met which suggests that this is the day that negotiations between LockBit and Royal Mail came to an end. These chat logs are the first data to be published by LockBit following the attack, which left the British postal service unable to dispatch many items overseas.

The logs show the Royal Mail negotiators trying to explain to the LockBit ransomware negotiators that they do not have the money and cannot possibly pay the enormous ransom demanded. Extracts include chat logs from a separate extortion attempt where the Conti ransomware gang had demanded $60 million from a US public school district.

In this case, the negotiator claims that they are only a subsidiary of Royal Mail and that an $80 million ransom is an “absurd” amount.

“As we informed you, we have a response from our board to provide you. Under no circumstances will we pay you the absurd amount of money you have demanded... We have repeatedly tried to explain to you we are not the large entity you have assumed we are, but rather a smaller subsidiary without the resources you think we have. But you continue to refuse to listen to us. This is an amount that could never be taken seriously by our board,” says the Log

LockBit subsequently reduced the demand, but not more than they apparently usually discount during negotiations.

According to Simon West, Cyber Advisory Lead at Resilience "It is absolutely vital that as these sorts of attacks continue to increase, the preparation of executive teams on ransomware scenarios, actionable security controls focused on maintaining business operations, and the financial coverage to help with a recovery are all key factors in building resilience against an extortion attempt, will become a core, business critical function of any well run company."

This latest development in the Royal Mail cyber attack comes just days after LockBit made a ransomware attack on Ion Group, a Dublin-based software company that helps financial institutions automate their critical business processes.

Keiron Holyome, VP UKI and emerging markets at BlackBerry commented “We have recently seen a growing trend in companies refusing to pay ransoms following cyber attacks. It is encouraging to see this looking set to continue... it remains absolutely critical that organisations focus efforts on identifying any gaps in their security posture, and apply additional cybersecurity defences, to ensure they are fit to stop incidents if they happen"

The British postal delivery service continues to experience service disruption due to the cyber attack, more than a month later.

In an update dated February 14, Royal Mail said that while it has made progress, international services were reinstated to all destinations for purchase online, it’s still unable to process new Royal Mail parcels and large letters requiring a customs declaration purchased through Post Office branches.

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