The US Department of Justice has announced that FBI agents have successfully stopped Hive, a notorious ransomware and hacker group, and victims no longer have to pay $130 million in ransoms. Claiming that the Hive group has targeted more than 1,500 victims in more than 80 countries around the world, the ministry says it infiltrated the network for months before working with German and Dutch authorities to shut down Hive servers and websites.
“Simply put, we hacked hackers using legal tools,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at the press conference.
By sneaking into Hive’s servers, the FBI says it was able to silently obtain more than 300 decryption keys and return them to victims who were targeted and locked by the group. US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the FBI has found these decryption keys in the past few months to an anonymous tipster of a Texas school district facing a $5 million ransom, a $3 million Louisiana hospital, and a $10 million ransom. He said he used it to unlock the food service company.
Hive was considered by the FBI among the top five ransomware threats. Hive has received over $100 million in ransom payments from its victims since June 2021, the Justice Department said.
Hive’s business model is based on producing and selling ransomware, finding “affiliates” who will then use the software, passing 20 percent of any revenue to Hive’s administrators, and publishing the stolen data on a “HiveLeaks” site if anyone refuses to pay.
During its surveillance of the Hive, the FBI found more than 1,000 encryption keys tied to the group’s previous victims, and FBI Director Christopher Wray noted that only 20 percent of identified victims reached the FBI for help. Many victims of ransomware attacks avoid contacting the FBI for fear of backlash from hackers and scrutiny in their industry for failing to secure themselves.
The ransomware industry continues to exist as hackers take their payments. The FBI hopes this success will persuade more victims to step up and work with them rather than give in to the demands.
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