The American company Garmin, which produces digital devices for navigation, outdoor activities and sports, could pay hackers a ransom of $ 10 million to recover the stolen data. This assumption was expressed by computer security experts interviewed by the British newspaper The Times.
According to the publication, on July 24, Garmin was subjected to a large-scale attack by cybercriminals using the WastedLocker virus. As many experts in the field of digital security believe, this is a tool of the hacker group Evil Corp, which is allegedly headed by a Muscovite Maxim Yakubets, a former citizen of Ukraine. The scammers who stole these companies demanded a ransom of $ 10 million.
On July 28, the company announced the restoration of its services and applications. At the same time, company representatives refrained from answering the question of whether Garmin agreed to fulfill the requirements of the attackers. Meanwhile, experts point out that such a quick return to work would not have been possible if the hackers did not receive a ransom and return the data.
The publication recalled that in this case, the company faces sanctions from the US Treasury Department, which prohibits any transfer of funds to the accounts of Evil Corp, including through intermediaries.
On December 5, the US indicted two Russian cybercrime suspects. Maxim Yakubets and Igor Turashev are accused of fraud organized to misappropriate money and property by installing malicious software on computers. It is assumed that Yakubets was the organizer of this scheme, which has been in effect since November 2011.
The United States also imposed sanctions on 17 citizens and seven Russian companies for “malicious” cyber activities. Among the individuals were Yakubets and Turashev.
Yakubts is called the leader of the cybercriminal organization Evil Corp, which also fell under the restriction, Turashev is a member of the same organization. The State Department has announced a reward of up to $ 5 million for information leading to the detention of Yakubets.