A cybercrime gang (Clop ransomware gang), who held stolen data for ransom, has released the names and company profiles of numerous victims affected by a global mass hack.
Clop Ransomware gang has recently posted the names of several firms on its website in the darknet, including 26 organizations such as banks and universities. The purpose of this action is to pressure victims into paying a ransom. Even US federal bodies have also been targeted, however, it’s not clear which agencies are affected or what data was stolen. Cybersecurity authorities say that the impact may not be significant though they expect to discover more companies that were affected by this mass hack.
Shell Oil giant has confirmed being one of the victims while other companies from countries like Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada have also been added to Clop’s leak site. However, ransomware gangs like Clop use these sites for “naming and shaming” their victims so they will pay up out of fear rather than risk public humiliation.
Clop usually demands ransoms ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars but police forces around the world discourage such payments since it only supports these criminal groups’ activities.
The MOVEit Transfer tool was first hacked on May 31 when Progress Software reported hackers had found a way into their system. Since then, criminals were able to access potentially hundreds of other databases belonging to different firms across the globe. Payroll services provider Zellis based in UK is one victim who lost sensitive information about eight UK organizations including home addresses, national insurance numbers and bank details in some cases.
It’s important for businesses worldwide to take proactive steps towards cybersecurity measures because if even one company gets hacked due to vulnerabilities within its network then many others can follow suit quickly thereafter with potentially catastrophic consequences for all involved parties!
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