Washington, May 7, 2022 (AFP) – The United States offered up to $10m on Friday for information on the Russian-linked Conti hacker group accused of orchestrating an attack in Costa Rica last month.
The State Department said it will reward up to $10 million for information identifying or locating the leaders of the hacking group, and up to $5 million for data leading to arrests or convictions.
The FBI estimates that data hackers (ransomware) from the Conti group had paid more than $150 million as of January, leaving more than 1,000 victims.
The State Department said the payments made “Conti’s ransomware variant the most expensive strain ever documented”.
“By presenting this award, the United States demonstrates its commitment to protecting potential ransomware victims worldwide from the exploitation of cybercrime.”
The State Department said that Conti’s alleged attack on state institutions in Costa Rica last month seriously hampered the government’s tax and customs processes.
Little is known to the public about the leadership of the Conti group, but an unusual leak in February gave some clues.
The leak appears to have emerged when someone posted internal group messages along with pro-Ukrainian tweets, thanks to Conti’s outspoken support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The conclusions of the analysts who reviewed the documents included that Conti had physical offices in Russia.
Washington, May 7, 2022 (AFP) – The United States offered up to $10m on Friday for information on the Russian-linked Conti hacker group accused of orchestrating an attack in Costa Rica last month.
The State Department said it will reward up to $10 million for information identifying or locating the leaders of the hacking group, and up to $5 million for data leading to arrests or convictions.
The FBI estimates that data hackers (ransomware) from the Conti group had paid more than $150 million as of January, leaving more than 1,000 victims.
The State Department said the payments made “Conti’s ransomware variant the most expensive strain ever documented”.
“By presenting this award, the United States demonstrates its commitment to protecting potential ransomware victims worldwide from the exploitation of cybercrime.”
The State Department said that Conti’s alleged attack on state institutions in Costa Rica last month seriously hampered the government’s tax and customs processes.
Little is known to the public about the leadership of the Conti group, but an unusual leak in February gave some clues.
The leak appears to have emerged when someone posted internal group messages along with pro-Ukrainian tweets, thanks to Conti’s outspoken support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The conclusions of the analysts who reviewed the documents included that Conti had physical offices in Russia.
source: Noticias
