The ransomware gang, REvil, that launched an attack on a software provider company, Kaseya, has suddenly vanished. All of its websites are reportedly unreachable.
REvil websites disappear
In an attempt to score a fortune, the group held thousands of companies around the world hostage and demanded up to $70 million (just over R1 billion) in bitcoin from Kaseya. The group is also one of the most popular in the cybercrime space. One of its most popular attacks includes that of JSB, one of the largest meat companies.
It is not clear why the group has suddenly disappeared — whether it is a momentary move or it has been busted and removed. According to Reuters, REvil was already drawing top-level U.S. government attention, and pressure has been mounting on Washington to take more decisive action against REvil and groups like it.
Did the government launch an attack on the Russian-based ransomware gang?
A few weeks ago, right after the attack, Joe Biden said that the FBI is looking into the situation and that if Vladimir Putin was found to be responsible, he would counteract. Biden also warned Putin to stop protecting hackers.
Reports also say that President Joe Biden hinted on Friday 9 July 2021, that the United States could take more aggressive action soon where ransomware was concerned.
Biden also answered in the affirmative in a statement, when asked if it would make sense to attack the Russian servers used in the act of cybercrime. He was also reportedly on a call with Putin on Friday 9 July 2021, and he told him they are expected to act.
The timing of Tuesday’s outage has sparked speculation that either the US or Russian officials may have taken action against REvil – though officials have so far declined to comment and cyber experts say sudden disappearances of groups are not necessarily uncommon, BBC says.
