US: Hive Network Dismantled – $100M in Ransoms from Cyber ​​Attacks

The American and German authorities announced today that they have dismantled one of the most important worldwide software attack networks, Hive, which he allegedly set his sights on 1,500 companies and organizations in 80 countries.

“Last night, the Department of Justice dismantled an international network that, using ransomware, obtained or attempted to obtain millions of dollars in ransom from his victims,” ​​US Secretary of State Merrick Garland said at a press conference.

The the organization’s servers were seized and federal police seized her site on the dark web (dark web), the anonymous web that ordinary users do not use.

THE operation was carried out in cooperation with the police authorities of Germany, the Netherlands and Europol, said FBI Director Christopher Wray, clarifying that the investigation is ongoing and those involved with Hive are at risk of arrest. Ray also urged citizens to learn the regulations surrounding classified information and handle them properly.

The Hive organization

The Hive organization first surfaced in June 2021 and reportedly collected more than $100 million in ransoms. Its members infiltrated information systems with illegal ransom, they encrypted the companies’ data and demanded money to be paid to them to unblock networks. According to companies specializing in cyber security, Hive’s ransomware was used against US hospitals, German electronics chain Telemarkt and Indian automaker Tata. Prosecutors in Stuttgart, Germany, estimate that the group is responsible for more than 1,500 attacks worldwide, 70 of which took place in Germany.

“We hacked the hackers”

Last June, the FBI was able to infiltrate Hive’s network and obtained the decryption key used by the group. In the following months, he gave it to victims of hacker around the world, thereby preventing the payment of a total of $130 million in ransoms, Christopher Wray said.

The feds also gave the key to Hive’s previous victims to recover all of their data.

““Unfortunately, over the past seven months we have discovered that only 20% of Hive victims reported to the police.”commented, urging all companies, agencies and organizations to contact the authorities immediately if they experience a cyber attack.

The Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office clarified that the authorities’ operation, codenamed Dawnbreaker, was launched on the occasion of the investigation it had launched after attacks on companies in the region which “they did not give in to the blackmail and informed the authorities”. “Once again, it has been shown that cooperation and mutual trust between continents is the key to effectively tackling cybercrime,” said Udo Vogel, the police chief of Reutlingen.

“We hacked the hackers» commented US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco for her part. “For months, we’ve helped victims confront their perpetrators and deprived the network of its criminal proceeds,” he added.