How US is Offering a $10M Bounty for Links between Foreign Governments and the Hive Ransomware

The United States is offering a $10 million bounty to anyone who can provide information with clear links that demonstrate foreign government involvement in the Hive ransomware. Hive is a ransomware strain which has been used to threaten victims and demand hefty ransom payments in order to unlock their data. The news was announced by the US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program, which said that information concerning links between criminal activity and foreign government could result in a reward of up to $10 million. The information the US is looking for has to relate to the cryptocurrency wallet associated with the Hive ransomware and specify “malicious operatives and their corporate or government sponsors or benefactors.” “This investigation is being led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Cybercrime Investigations Unit, in cooperation with the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and the FBI’s Cyber Task Force in their respective regions,” said the US Department of State. Hive is a highly-sophisticated ransomware strain which first emerged in April 2020, targeting both individuals and businesses. Analysis of the ransomware identified a set of techniques and tools that can be used to identify overlaps between Hive and other ransomware strains previously used by nation-state actors. The US Department of State believes the money in the cyber criminals’ wallet is the result of ransomware attack victims paying the ransom demands, and that information about entities involved in the malware’s development, deployment, and illicit use can be obtained through “independent research and intelligence sources.” According to the US Department of State, the ransomware operators frequently kidnap or threaten their victims to boost their ransom payments, although information about this criminal behavior is scarce. The US is therefore running a campaign to give security researchers and other independent investigators the opportunity to provide information that could shed light on the activities of malicious actors and the role of nation-states in their schemes. The US Department of State is running its cybersecurity reward program in collaboration with the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and the FBI’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Criminal Investigative Task Force. By offering $10 million in rewards for information about foreign governments’ links to the Hive ransomware, the US hopes to incentivize the identification of malicious actors and deter future attacks. Security researchers who are interested in participating in this program can submit their findings directly to the Rewards for Justice Program.

This Cyber News was published on www.bleepingcomputer.com. Publication date: Thu, 26 Jan 2023 20:42:02 +0000


Cyber News related to How US is Offering a $10M Bounty for Links between Foreign Governments and the Hive Ransomware

Hive Ransomware: A Detailed Analysis - This past week, on January 26th, to be exact, the FBI successfully shut down the Hive ransomware group and saved victims over a hundred million dollars in ransom payments and remediation costs. As ransomware continues to be a national security threat ...
1 year ago Heimdalsecurity.com
How US is Offering a $10M Bounty for Links between Foreign Governments and the Hive Ransomware - The United States is offering a $10 million bounty to anyone who can provide information with clear links that demonstrate foreign government involvement in the Hive ransomware. Hive is a ransomware strain which has been used to threaten victims and ...
1 year ago Bleepingcomputer.com
French police arrests Russian suspect linked to Hive ransomware - French authorities arrested a Russian national in Paris for allegedly helping the Hive ransomware gang with laundering their victims' ransom payments. The suspect was apprehended after the French Anti-Cybercrime Office linked him to digital wallets ...
9 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
New Hunters International ransomware possible rebrand of Hive - A new ransomware-as-a-service brand named Hunters International has emerged using code used by the Hive ransomware operation, leading to the valid assumption that the old gang has resumed activity under a different flag. This theory is supported by ...
10 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
US Offers $10 Million Reward for Info About Hive Ransomware Leaders - The U.S. government appears eager to finish off what's left of the notorious Hive ransomware group, offering a $10 million reward for information that leads to the identification and location of any of the leaders of the gang. The State Department on ...
8 months ago Securityboulevard.com
The 20 Most Essential Crypto Bug Bounty Programs - Working with cryptocurrency has become more and more popular in the last few years, but it’s not without risks. It’s important for sites that conduct digital payments and transfers to have security measures in place to help keep your data safe ...
1 year ago Hackread.com
US offers $10 million for tips on Hive ransomware leadership - The U.S. State Department offers rewards of up to $10 million for information that could help locate, identify, or arrest members of the Hive ransomware gang. The FBI says this ransomware group had extorted roughly $100 million from over 1,300 ...
8 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
Microsoft launches Defender Bounty Program with $20,000 rewards - Microsoft has unveiled a new bug bounty program aimed at the Microsoft Defender security platform, with rewards between $500 and $20,000. While higher awards are possible, Microsoft retains sole discretion to determine the final reward amount based ...
10 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
Microsoft: Over 100 Threat Actors Deploy Ransomware in Attacks - Microsoft revealed that its security teams are tracking over 100 threat actors deploying ransomware during attacks. The company monitors over 50 unique ransomware families that were actively used until the end of last year, including Lockbit Black, ...
1 year ago Bleepingcomputer.com
How the Hive Takedown Impacts Ransomware Prevention - Ransomware experts are widely praising the takedown of the notorious "Hive" criminal infrastructure, but the potential impacts it may have on preventing ransomware ongoing and into the future remains a matter of debate. ...
1 year ago Therecord.media
US Offers $10M Reward for Information on Hive Ransomware Leaders - The US Department of State on Thursday announced a $10 million reward for information on leaders of the Hive ransomware cybergang. The announcement comes roughly one year after law enforcement took down the Hive ransomware operation and seized the ...
8 months ago Securityweek.com
Beijing fosters foreign influencers to spread its propaganda The Register - China is offering foreign influencers access to its vast market in return for content that sings its praises and helps to spreads Beijing's desired narratives more widely around the world, according to think tank the Australian Strategic Policy ...
10 months ago Theregister.com
The Top 5 Ransomware Takedowns - Learn about the recent achievements in the fight against ransomware as law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity organizations successfully disrupt operations, seize infrastructure, and safeguard victims from further attacks. Trigona ransomware, a ...
9 months ago Securityboulevard.com
The Top 10 Ransomware Groups of 2023 - This article takes an in-depth look at the rise in ransomware attacks over the past year and the criminal groups driving the surge in cyber extortion. LockBit has established itself as one of the most notorious ransomware operations since emerging on ...
8 months ago Securityboulevard.com
The Week in Ransomware - Today's column brings you two weeks of information on the latest ransomware attacks and research after we skipped last week's article. BleepingComputer has learned that some of the BlackCat/ALPHV affiliates are not buying the explanation and have ...
9 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
The Week in Ransomware - Governments struck back this week against members of ransomware operations, imposing sanctions on one threat actor and sentencing another to prison. On Tuesday, the Australian, US, and UK governments announced sanctions against Aleksandr Gennadievich ...
8 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
Medusa Ransomware Turning Your Files into Stone - Unit 42 Threat Intelligence analysts have noticed an escalation in Medusa ransomware activities and a shift in tactics toward extortion, characterized by the introduction in early 2023 of their dedicated leak site called the Medusa Blog. The Unit 42 ...
9 months ago Unit42.paloaltonetworks.com
Ransomware Roundup - The Ransomware Roundup report aims to provide readers with brief insights into the evolving ransomware landscape and the Fortinet solutions that protect against those variants. This edition of the Ransomware Roundup covers the 8base ransomware. 8base ...
9 months ago Feeds.fortinet.com
Ransomware in 2023 recap: 5 key takeaways - This provides the best overall picture of ransomware activity, but the true number of attacks is far higher. While some ransomware trends hardly changed over the last year, such as LockBit's continued dominance, ransomware criminals also challenged ...
8 months ago Malwarebytes.com
Ransomware Roundup - On a bi-weekly basis, FortiGuard Labs gathers data on ransomware variants of interest that have been gaining traction within our datasets and the OSINT community. The Ransomware Roundup report aims to provide readers with brief insights into the ...
6 months ago Feeds.fortinet.com
Declining Ransomware Payments: Shift in Hacker Tactics? - Several cybersecurity advisories and agencies recommend not caving into ransomware gangs' demands and paying their ransoms. It seems the tide is turning, with a decline in ransomware payments; this article explores the trend and what it might mean ...
7 months ago Securityboulevard.com
Frameworks, Guidelines & Bounties Alone Won't Defeat Ransomware - COMMENTARY. The US government is ramping up efforts to stem the increasingly disruptive scourge of ransomware attacks. The State Department recently offered up to $15 million for information on LockBit, and $10 million for information on the ...
6 months ago Darkreading.com
Dozens of countries will pledge to stop paying ransomware gangs - An alliance of 40 countries will sign a pledge during the third annual International Counter-Ransomware Initiative summit in Washington, D.C., to stop paying ransoms demanded by cybercriminal groups. Addressing reporters on Monday, Anne Neuberger, ...
10 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
Best Ransomware Protection Practices for Midsize Organizations - Ransomware Protection has emerged as a crucial step in cybersecurity since ransomware attacks have become a major threat to businesses of all sizes, including midsize organizations. Ransomware attacks can be delivered via email attachments or links, ...
9 months ago Securityboulevard.com
Understanding the Seizure of Dark Web Sites Linked to the Hive Ransomware - Recently, law enforcement seized several dark web sites linked to the Hive ransomware. The Hive ransomware is a potent form of malware that cybercriminals use to target organizations and individual computer users in order to demand a ransom for ...
1 year ago Bleepingcomputer.com

Latest Cyber News


Cyber Trends (last 7 days)


Trending Cyber News (last 7 days)