In Brief:
- Electronics Outlet Mediamarkt has been hit by a Hive ransomware attack.
- The hackers have demanded $50 million to be paid in Bitcoin.
- Following the attack, the stores were unable to accept credit or debit card payments.
Europe’s biggest electronic retailer, Mediamarkt, is hit by a Hive ransomware attack With demand to pay $50 million in Bitcoin.
According to a news report, the attackers initially demanded a $240 million ransom payment, but later reduced it to $50 million, with payment demanded in bitcoin.
The attack, which was allegedly started by the international hacking group Hive, forced the electronics outlet to shut down its IT systems to avoid further problems.
The online sales continue to operate normally in the stores, but cash registers in affected locations are unable to accept credit cards or print receipts. Because of the inability to look up previous purchases, the system outage is also preventing returns.
As per the report, MediaMarkt instructed its employees to avoid encrypted systems and to disconnect cash registers from the network.
Also Read: US Tied $5.2 Billion Worth Bitcoin Transactions to Ransomware Payments
“MediaMarktSaturn continues to be available to its customers via all sales channels and is working intensively to ensure that all services will be available again without restriction as soon as possible. The company will provide information on further developments on the topic,” stated the retail giant.
