Denmark News Agency Refuses to Pay Hacker's Ransom

Denmark News Agency Refuses to Pay Hacker's Ransom

Denmark’s largest news agency has refused to pay a ransom to cyber-criminals who attacked its computer system with ransomware. 





Wire service Ritzau was knocked offline following an attack that occurred early last week. The incident infected roughly a quarter of the agency's 100 servers with malware, causing editorial systems to be shut down.





Copenhagen-based Ritzau, which has been providing the Danish media, organizations, and companies with text and images since 1866, said it had been forced to transfer its emergency distribution to clients to six live blogs “which provide a better overview.”





CEO of Ritzau, Lars Vesterloekke, revealed that the agency had no clear idea of how much the attackers were demanding in return for the restoration of Ritzau's encrypted files. Vesterloekke said that the agency had been instructed by its advisers not to open "a file with a message" left behind by whoever was responsible for the "professional attack."





The news agency said that it was "hit by a serious hacker attack on Tuesday." The attack's instigators are yet to be identified.





An external computer forensics company has been hired by Ritzau to assist the company's own IT department with recovering from the disruption caused by the attack. 





"Ritzau's web service with distribution of news to media customers is now up and online again," the news agency said in a  denmark agency refuses hacker ransom