March 19, 2024

FBI takes down international Hive ransomware network

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FBI takes down international Hive ransomware network

US law enforcement, together with Germany and the Netherlands, dismantled one of the largest ransomware networks, Hive, returning the stolen assets of most of the victims.

The US Department of Justice reported oncompletion of a joint operation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, during which the international Hive ransomware group was eliminated. Attackers attacked schools, banks and hospitals in more than 80 countries. Since June 2021, approximately 1,500 institutions worldwide have been targeted, and ransomware has earned more than $100 million in cryptocurrencies. 

The FBI managed to penetrate the network in July 2022and seize more than 1,300 decryption keys to help victims recover their funds. Law enforcement officers in Germany and the Netherlands coordinated the operation - they took control of the scammers’ services and websites, which, in fact, helped destroy Hive.

The ransomware worked according to an ordinary scheme:stole confidential data from emails, documents and files, encrypted them, and then demanded ransom in bitcoins. If the victim refused to pay, the data was published on the darknet.

Formerly analytics company Chainalysispublished statistics according to which revenue from ransomware attacks fell by 40% from 2021 - from $766 million to $457 million. Experts explained this by the fact that more and more victims of ransomware refused to pay scammers.