Study: One cybercrime gang extorted RM309.86mil from targets

DiMaggio’s study is a broad examination of attacks in recent months, examining the goals, practices and payoffs of what he calls the world’s first 'ransom cartel’. — AFP Relaxnews

One gang of cybercriminals extorted at least US$75mil (RM309.86mil) from private sector companies, local governments and hospitals, a former NSA contractor concluded in a months-long study released on April 7, an alarming sign of the potential financial rewards for online attacks.

Jon DiMaggio, the chief security strategist at Virginia-based Analyst1, estimated the group known as Twisted Spider used the Egregor ransomware to extract at least that amount from his targets, according to publicly acknowledged ransom payments. He believes the real number is much higher, because “many victims never publicly report when they pay a ransom” and the “bad guys don’t post their stuff online”.