Ragnar Locker Team used hacked Facebook accounts to apply pressure on blackmail victims.
It’s a story we’re sadly all too familiar with.
A company, in this case Italian liquor company Campari, is attacked by ransomware, planted by hackers who have compromised the firm’s network. Its files and devices are encrypted – locking the business out of its data, but not before the sensitive information has been exfiltrated by the criminal gang.
The attackers leave a ransom note on the breached network saying that a sizeable ransom must be paid – not only for the decryption key for the now garbled files, but also to prevent the stolen data from being shared on the internet or sold on to other criminals.
In an increasing number of instances, the hacking gang may even attempt to get the assistance of technology journalists, tipping them off about the contents of stolen files, hoping that negative press coverage might encourage their corporate victims to pay up rather than have their brand and public image damaged.
But now at least one cybercrime gang appears to have found a new method to raise the pressure on those they are blackmailing.
As cybercrime blogger Brian Krebs reports, the Ragnar Locker ransomware gang has taken the eyebrow-raising step of buying Facebook ads to tell the world it has infected drinks manufacturer Campari.
According to Krebs, the gang has used a hacked Facebook account to buy adverts on the social network.
The ads, which describe themselves as a “Ragnar_locker Team Press Release” publicise the security breach of Campari Group’s network, and tha ..
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