“They paid the ransom, the deal is over,” a Lockbit representative told Reuters via the Tox online messaging app. There was no immediate response from ICBC, the world’s largest bank by assets, according to Bloomberg.
Previously, ICBC's subsidiary, ICBC Financial Services (ICBCFS), headquartered in New York (USA), was hit by a cyberattack on November 8 that lasted until November 9, causing ICBCFS to be unable to complete US Treasury bond transactions. Late on November 9, ICBCFS posted a statement on its website confirming that the company had "experienced a ransomware attack that resulted in disruptions to certain [financial services] systems."
The logo of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is seen in Beijing, China, March 30, 2016.
On November 10, Reuters reported that the cyberattack had left ICBCFS temporarily owing Bank of New York Mellon 9 (BNY Mellon) $9 billion due to unresolved transactions, forcing ICBC to inject capital into the unit to resolve the transactions. The sources added that BNY Mellon had been repaid that debt.
Why pay ransom?
Lockbit has hit several major organizations around the world in recent months, stealing and leaking sensitive data if victims refuse to pay ransoms. In just three years, Lockbit has become the world's leading ransomware threat, according to Reuters, citing US officials.
Lockbit is believed to have hacked more than 1,700 US organizations in almost every sector from financial services and food to schools, transportation and government agencies.
Authorities have long warned against paying ransomware groups in an effort to disrupt the criminals’ business models. Ransoms are often demanded in digital currency, which is harder to trace and provides anonymity to recipients.
Some companies that have been hacked have quietly paid the ransom in order to get back online quickly and avoid the reputational damage of having their sensitive data leaked publicly. Victims who don’t have digital backups that allow them to restore their systems without decryption sometimes have no choice but to pay the ransom, according to Reuters.
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