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* Computer giant Acer hit by $50 million ransomware attack
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COMPUTER GIANT ACER HIT BY $50 MILLION RANSOMWARE ATTACK
By
LAWRENCE ABRAMS
* March 19, 2021
* 11:11 AM
* 0
Computer giant Acer has been hit by a REvil ransomware attack where the threat
actors are demanding the largest known ransom to date, $50,000,000.
Acer is a Taiwanese electronics and computer maker well-known for laptops,
desktops, and monitors. Acer employs approximately 7,000 employees and earned
$7.8 billion in 2019.
Yesterday, the ransomware gang announced on their data leak site that they had
breached Acer and shared some images of allegedly stolen files as proof.
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Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More Ransomware dev releases
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These leaked images are for documents that include financial spreadsheets, bank
balances, and bank communications.
Acer data leak on REvil ransomware site
In response to BleepingComputer's inquiries, Acer did not provide a clear answer
regarding whether they suffered a REvil ransomware attack, saying instead that
they "reported recent abnormal situations" to relevant LEAs and DPAs.
You can read their complete response below:
> "Acer routinely monitors its IT systems, and most cyberattacks are well
> defensed. Companies like us are constantly under attack, and we have reported
> recent abnormal situations observed to the relevant law enforcement and data
> protection authorities in multiple countries."
>
> "We have been continuously enhancing our cybersecurity infrastructure to
> protect business continuity and our information integrity. We urge all
> companies and organizations to adhere to cyber security disciplines and best
> practices, and be vigilant to any network activity abnormalities." - Acer.
In requests for further details, Acer said "there is an ongoing investigation
and for the sake of security, we are unable to comment on details."
If you have first-hand information about this or other unreported cyberattacks,
you can confidentially contact us on Signal at +16469613731 or on Wire at
@lawrenceabrams-bc.
HIGHEST KNOWN RANSOM DEMAND
After publishing our story, Valery Marchive of LegMagIT discovered the REvil
ransomware sample used in the Acer attack that demanded a whopping $50 million
ransom.
Soon after, BleepingComputer found the sample and can confirm that based on the
ransom note and the victim's conversation with the attackers, the sample is from
the cyberattack on Acer.
Acer ransom demand on Tor payment site
In conversations between the victim and REvil, which started on March 14th, the
Acer representative showed shock at the massive $50 million demand.
Later in the chat, the REvil representative shared a link to the Acer data leak
page, which was secret at the time.
The attackers also offered a 20% discount if payment was made by this past
Wednesday. In return the ransomware gang would provide a decryptor, a
vulnerability report, and the deletion of stolen files.
At one point, the REvil operation offered a cryptic warning to Acer "to not
repeat the fate of the SolarWind."
REvil's 50 million demand is the largest known ransom to date, with the previous
being the $30 million ransom from the Dairy Farm cyberattack, also by REvil.
POSSIBLE MICROSOFT EXCHANGE EXPLOITATION
Vitali Kremez told BleepingComputer that Advanced Intel's Andariel
cyberintelligence platform detected that the Revil gang recently targeted a
Microsoft Exchange server on Acer's domain.
"Advanced Intel's Andariel cyberintelligence system detected that one particular
REvil affiliate pursued Microsoft Exchange weaponization," Kremez told
BleepingComputer.
Andariel feed showing targeting of Acer Exchange Server
The threat actors behind the DearCry ransomware have already used the ProxyLogon
vulnerability to deploy their ransomware but they are a smaller operation with
fewer victims.
If REvil did exploit the recent Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities to steal data
or encrypt devices, it would be the first time one of the big game-hunting
ransomware operations used this attack vector.
Update 3/19/21 2:45PM: Updated with information from discovered Acer ransomware
sample.
RELATED ARTICLES:
Business services provider Morley discloses ransomware incident
Vodafone Portugal 4G and 5G services down after cyberattack
Puma hit by data breach after Kronos ransomware attack
Law enforcement action push ransomware gangs to surgical attacks
The Week in Ransomware - January 28th 2022 - Get NAS devices off the Internet
* Abnormal Situation
* Acer
* Cyberattack
* Data Breach
* Ransomware
* REvil
*
*
*
*
*
LAWRENCE ABRAMS
Lawrence Abrams is the owner and Editor in Chief of BleepingComputer.com.
Lawrence's area of expertise includes Windows, malware removal, and computer
forensics. Lawrence Abrams is a co-author of the Winternals Defragmentation,
Recovery, and Administration Field Guide and the technical editor for Rootkits
for Dummies.
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