Latest Extortion news

Shipping Firm Avoids Customer Data Dump in Last Year's Hack & Ransom Incident

UK-based shipping company Clarkson PLC (or Clarksons) has revealed more details about a security breach that took place last year, and during which hackers threatened to release some of the company's data online if it didn't pay a ransom demand.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- July 31, 2018
- 11:55 AM
- 0
Adult Site Blackmail Spammers made Over $50K in One Week

After examining 42 bitcoin addresses associated with a current extortion scam, it was discovered that over $50,000 USD in payments have been made.
- Lawrence Abrams
- July 19, 2018
- 09:52 AM
- 9
Beware of Extortion Scams Stating They Have Video of You on Adult Sites

Reports are coming in about a new extortion scam where scammers email you stating that they know the recipient's password, have installed malware on the computer, created videos of the recipient using adult web sites through their webcam, and have stolen the recipient's contacts.
- Lawrence Abrams
- July 12, 2018
- 03:58 PM
- 37
Europol Dismantles One of the Internet's Oldest Hacker Groups

Europol, French, UK, and Thai police arrested eight people they suspect to have been involved or to have been part of a notorious hacker group known as Rex Mundi (Latin for "King of the World").
- Catalin Cimpanu
- June 15, 2018
- 06:56 PM
- 2
DDoSer Who Terrorized German and UK Firms Gets Off Without Jail Time

A German hacker who launched DDoS attacks and tried to extort ransom payments from German and UK firms was sentenced last month to one year and ten months of probation.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- May 07, 2018
- 01:30 AM
- 0
Some Memcached DDoS Attackers Are Asking for a Ransom Demand in Monero

DDoS extortionists have already pounced on the Memcached DDoS attack vector in attempts to extract payments from attacked companies.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- March 02, 2018
- 07:34 PM
- 0
BlackMailware Found On Porn Site Threatens to Report Users are Spreading Child Porn

A new infection is being distributed by porn sites that tries to blackmail a victim into paying a ransom by stating they will tell law enforcement that the victim is spreading child porn.
- Lawrence Abrams
- January 25, 2018
- 03:18 PM
- 10
Chinese Man Arrested for Hacking and Demanding Ransom from Travel Agencies

It took Chinese police only four days to arrest a hacker they believe breached the servers of two Hong Kong travel agencies, stole their data, and then asked for a ransom in Bitcoin.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- January 10, 2018
- 08:58 AM
- 0
Man Threatened Company with Cyber Attack to Fire Employee and Hire Him Instead

A North Carolina judge sentenced a Washington man this week to 37 months in prison for threatening a company with attacks unless they fire one of their employees and hire him instead.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- December 24, 2017
- 06:40 AM
- 2
DDoS Extortion Group Sends Ransom Demand to Thousands of Companies

A group of DDoS extortionists using the name of Phantom Squad has sent out a massive spam wave to thousands of companies all over the globe, threating DDoS attacks on September 30, if victims do not pay a ransom demand.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- September 22, 2017
- 06:12 AM
- 1
Online Extortion Campaigns Target Users, Companies, Security Researchers

During the past week, there has been a sudden surge in online extortion campaigns, against regular users and security researchers alike.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- August 21, 2017
- 09:30 AM
- 2
HBO Wanted to Disguise $250,000 Ransom Payment as Bug Bounty Reward

The hackers who breached HBO's servers have declined a ransom payment of $250,000 from a top HBO exec, according to an email leaked by hackers to the press.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- August 10, 2017
- 08:48 PM
- 0
DDoS Extortionist Who Posed as Anonymous Hacker Arrested in the US

On Friday, US authorities arrested a man on charges of launching DDoS attacks and making death and bomb threats against several targets including Leagle.com, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Metro News Canada, the official website of the Canadian government, and others.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- July 31, 2017
- 02:10 AM
- 0
Hacker Group Claims Responsibility for Lloyds Bank Outages, Ransom Demand

A group of at least two hackers has tried to extort a ransom payment from the Lloyds Banking Group according to a copy of an email the hackers sent to a high-ranking executive.
- Catalin Cimpanu
- January 23, 2017
- 07:26 PM
- 1