January 27, 2023
The United States has publicly stated a reward of up to $10 million for any information linking to the Hive ransomware group. This follows the FBI’s revelation that ransomware operations have extorted approximately $100 million from 1,500 businesses since 2021.
“If you have information that links Hive or any other malicious cyber actors targeting U.S. critical infrastructure to a foreign government, send us your tip via our Tor tip line. You could be eligible for a reward,” the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Twitter account said.
“For information on the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction of a foreign government, participates in malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.”
“Send us your information on Signal, Telegram, WatshApp, or via our Tor-based tip line.”
The FBI made the offer after successfully infiltrating the Hive ransomware’s servers at a California hosting provider. For six months, it secretly monitored the operation. Dutch authorities also gained access to the group’s backup servers, which were located in the Netherlands.
The FBI also found Hive communication records, malware file hashes, and information on 250 Hive affiliates, in addition to decryption keys. The gang’s Tor payment and data leak sites now show an animated seizure banner alerting other ransomware gangs to the coordinated action and enumerating the law enforcement organizations and countries involved in this international takedown operation.
The sources for this piece include an article in BleepingComputer.
