A computer key that can unlock the files of hundreds of companies which were hacked in a large-scale cyber-attack has been obtained. US IT firm Kaseya

Ransomware key to unlock customer data from REvil attack

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2021-07-23 17:30:04

A computer key that can unlock the files of hundreds of companies which were hacked in a large-scale cyber-attack has been obtained.

US IT firm Kaseya - which was the first to be targeted earlier this month - said it got the key from a “trusted third party”.

The "supply chain" attack initially targeted Kaseya, before spreading through corporate networks which use its software.

Kaseya estimated that between 800 and 1,500 businesses were affected, including 500 Swedish Coop supermarkets and 11 schools in New Zealand.

After the attack at the beginning of July, criminal ransomware gang REvil demanded $70m worth of Bitcoin in return for a key that would unlock the stolen files.

But members of the group disappeared from the internet in the days following the incident, leaving companies with no way of retrieving the data until now.

The most desperate companies would have paid the gang already to get their operations back online, and others would hopefully be on their way to recovering by now without the help of the criminals.