Top 7 Ransomware Attacks of year 2021

1.) REVIL ransomware spreading gang targeted Kaseya software company through a vulnerability and disrupted their business operations in July 2021. The notorious gang of threat actors reportedly demanded a $70 million ransom. However, the company did not bow down to the demands of hackers and recovered their data by other means.

2.) Accenture was hit by Lockbit ransomware attack in August this year and stole around 6TB of data to indulge in double extortion tactics. Since the IT consulting firm denied paying the ransom, the Lockbit guys contacted their customers and tried their best to tarnish the image of the company in its business field.

3.) Computer maker Acer was targeted by Revil ransomware gang in March this year stealing some of the critical data through the Microsoft Exchange Servers vulnerability. The threat actors demanded $50 million ransom to free up their databases from malware.

4.) Ireland Health Service Executive (HSE) was targeted by Conti ransomware gang that stole the data at first and then encrypted their database until a ransom of $20 million was paid. Sources said that contracts details, employee info, financial statement, payroll data, and patient information were compromised in the incident. And Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin cleared the air that the authorities will never bow down to the demands of hackers as it not only encourages crime but also doesn’t guarantee a decryption key for sure…..very true!

5.) Kia Motors America was hit by a file encrypting malware in Feb this year and investigations launched latter revealed that the car maker was hit by Doppelpaymer gang who demanded $20 million for return of a decryption key. Most of the systems, like UVO Link app, phone services and payment services, were down after their incidents and the company failed to acknowledge it as a ransomware attack.

6.) JBS Meat trader of America was hit by Revil ransomware gang prompting President Joe Biden nation take serious action against the gang that is suspected to be operating from Russia. The criminal gang is said to have demanded $11 million from the company. But the meat supplier timely engaged its staff and IT expertise and resolved the issue with backed up data.

7.) Colonial Pipeline IT infrastructure was targeted by DarkSide ransomware gang shutting down the supply on its 5,500 miles pipeline related to natural gas and prompting the authorities to look for alternative measures to avoid scarcity of fuel across Southeast of United States. On May 8th,2021, DarkSide demanded a ransom of $4.8 million and after receiving the money in cryptocurrency, the notorious cyber gang of criminals offered a decryption tool to free up the data from malware.

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Naveen Goud
Naveen Goud is a writer at Cybersecurity Insiders covering topics such as Mergers & Acquisitions, Startups, Cyber Attacks, Cloud Security and Mobile Security

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