 |
| Millions of dollars have been offered for information about |
The US State Department on Thursday offered up to $10 million for information that could help prove that Hive ransomware or other threat actors are linked to foreign governments.
In November last year, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that the gang had extorted about $100 million from more than 1,500 companies since June 2021.
A US State Department account posted a tweet that read, "If you have targeted information (Hive) or a foreign government cyber threat actor, please use the Network Intelligence (Tor) line." You may qualify for a bonus.
The department added, "We are asking for information regarding the identity or location of individuals who are violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, engaging in malicious cyber activity targeting critical US infrastructure, and taking action at the request of a foreign government." Your message via Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, or a secret messaging line based on the Tor network.
Over the past two years, the State Department has also offered rewards of up to $15 million for classified information that could help identify members of the Conti, REvil, and Darkside ransomware gangs.
The State Department awards these awards as part of the Transnational Organized Crime Stimulus Program, which has awarded more than $135 million since 1986.
The suggestion comes notably after the FBI shut down the Hive ransomware group's Tor website as part of an international law enforcement operation.
The DOJ said in a statement that the operation allowed the FBI to identify attacks before they happen, warn targets, obtain decryption keys, distribute them to victims, and avoid paying nearly $130 million in ransoms.
She added, “Since the (Hive) network was hacked in July 2022, the FBI has released more than 300 decryption keys to the hacked (Hive) victims. More than 1,000 additional decryption keys have been distributed.”