Businesses throughout the UK have received extortion demands from an online hacking group. The group have sent emails demanding payment of 5 Bitcoins to be paid by a given time and date. The email states that this demand will increase by 5 Bitcoins for each day that it goes unpaid.
If their demand is not met, they have threatened to launch a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack against the businesses’ websites and networks, taking them offline until payment is made. The demand states that once their actions have started, they cannot be undone.
If you’ve received one of these demands, the authorities ask that you report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or by using the online reporting tool. Do not pay the demand. Retain the original emails (with headers); and maintain a timeline of the attack, recording all times, type and content of the contact.
