Hackers demand a ransom of $1 million in Monero from Optus

[SHARK NOVA]

Hackers broke into the database of the Australian telecommunications company Optus. They threaten to sell the stolen data if they don't receive a ransom of $1 million in Monero within a week. The attackers claim that they managed to get hold of the data of about 11.2 million Optus customers, including their names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, residential addresses and identity document numbers. To verify the authenticity of their claims, the hackers released about 200 sample recordings. It turned out that during the attack the payment details of users and passwords from their accounts were not compromised.

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The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said it was aware of the data leak from Optus. Information about the company's customers can already be sold on several forums, including the darknet. Therefore, AFP uses special resources to monitor the dark web and will take tough measures against violators of the law. AFP warned that buying stolen credentials is a serious offense that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

According to the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency (FinCEN), in the first half of 2021, crypto-ransomware payments totaled $590 million. Cryptocurrencies with a high level of anonymity, such as Monero (XRM), have become a favorite coin for ransomware criminals.

Recall that last year, the hacker group REvil demanded $100 million in XRM from Apple, threatening to publish drawings of Apple devices. In 2020, cybercriminals hacked the system of Australian beverage manufacturer Lion twice, demanding $800,000 in Monero cryptocurrency.
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