Russian hacker group Evil Corp targets US workers at home
By BBC News
Published: 2020-06-26 · Archived: 2026-04-05 16:39:58 UTC
The US presidential election is also just months away, and federal and local officials have been working to put
measures in place to protect voter records as well as manage safe voting practices amid the pandemic.
What do we know about the attack?
Symantec Corporation, a firm that monitors corporate and government networks released a notice warning of the
threat it identified on Thursday night.
The attacks used what Symantec described as a relatively new type of ransomware called WastedLocker, which
has been attributed to Evil Corp. Ransomware are computer viruses that threaten to delete files unless the ransom
is paid. The WastedLocker ransomware virus demands ransoms of $500,000 to $1m to unlock computer files it
seizes.
Symantec said the "vast majority of targets are major corporations, including many household names", and eight
targets were Fortune 500 companies. All are US-owned but one, which is a US-based subsidiary.
Most targeted companies were in the manufacturing, information technology and media sectors.
Technology explained: what is ransomware?
Symantec said the hackers had breached the networks of these companies and were "laying the groundwork" for
future ransomware attacks that would let them block access to data and demand millions of dollars.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53195749
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53195749
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