Source: newcoop.com
U.S. farmers cooperative NEW Cooperative has suffered a BlackMatter ransomware attack demanding $5.9 million not to leak stolen data and provide a decryptor.
NEW Cooperative is a farmer's feed and grain cooperative with over sixty locations throughout Iowa.
In a weekend ransomware attack, the threat actors demand a 5.9 million dollar ransom, which will increase to $11.8 million if a ransom is not paid in five days.
These ransom demands are a starting point for negotiations and usually lead to significantly smaller payments if a victim decides to pay.
NEW Cooperative has confirmed the attack to BleepingComputer and stated that they had taken their systems offline to contain the attack's spread.
“NEW Cooperative recently identified a cybersecurity incident that is impacting some of our company’s devices and systems. Out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively taken our systems offline to contain the threat, and we can confirm it has been successfully contained," a NEW Cooperative spokesperson told BleepingComputer.
"We also quickly notified law enforcement and are working closely with data security experts to investigate and remediate the situation."
BlackMatter targets critical infrastructure
Researchers first learned of the attack after a ransomware sample was uploaded to a public malware analysis site early this morning.
This sample allowed access to the BlackMatter ransom note, the ransomware negotiation page, and a non-public data leak page containing screenshots of allegedly stolen data.
BlackMatter is believed to be a rebrand of the DarkSide ransomware that disappeared after
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