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Computer giant Acer hit by $50 million ransomware attack
March 2021 by Richard Hughes, Head of Technical Cyber Security at A&O IT Group
News has broken that Computer giant Acer has been hit by a REvil ransomware attack where the threat actors are demanding the largest known ransom to date, $50,000,000. REvil is demanding a $50 million sum from Acer, offering until March 28 for the company to send over funds before any alleged stolen data is leaked.
The comment from Richard Hughes, Head of Technical Cyber Security at A&O IT Group:
“Ransomware attacks are a major source of income for cybercriminals with a huge reward for very little effort. The $50 million demand is the highest currently known and whilst shocking only serves to demonstrate the potential that the perpetrators see in this form of attack. Acer should not consider paying this Ransom as doing so would simply keep this as a viable business model. It should also be noted that there is no guarantee that an organisation will be able to decrypt data after paying a ransom as ransomware does not go through strict quality control and often contains bugs that may prevent successful recovery. It is more important than ever to conduct regular security assessments and ensure that the latest security patches are tested and deployed as soon as they are available. Organisations should also consider the design of their environments to help prevent the spread of an attack should the worst happen.”
