There is very little more ironic than a hacker group getting hacked themselves which happened to be the case for the notorious ransomware hacker group, REvil, recently being hacked themselves.
Although many people will be able to appreciate the irony, there is still much speculation as to who exactly hacked REvil. One possible suspect is none other than the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who the Washington Post reported had managed to get hold of a key that could have been used to shut down the group. The FBI held off on using the key though, as the group seemingly took a hiatus after targetingAcerby holding it ransom to the tune of $100 million.
RELATED:Call of Duty’s Ricochet Anti-Cheat May Have Been Leaked to Hackers
Another possible suspect for REvil’s demise could actually be a former member of the group. There have been rumors doing the rounds that the group might have split with some former members who were possibly trying to take REvil’s platform for themselves. At this point, no one can be certain as to who took down the “Happy Blog” (REvil’s payment portal and data leak blog) as no one has come forward to claim the righteous cyber attack, however, many companies are most likely breathing sighs of relief at REvil’s absence.
The ransomware hacking group has left many victims in its wake includingApplesupplier, Qanta Computer and many other organizations who made use of Kaseya IT management solutions. In July REvil held JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, to a ransom of $11 million which the company was unfortunately forced to pay in order to regain control of its operations.
Hacking and cybercrime have become exceptionally lucrative forms of criminal activity as the popularity ofcryptocurrencyhas made digital blackmail payments nigh untraceable. One unfortunate detail about the “Happy Blog” takedown is that even though REvil’s platform has been neutralized none of the group’s members were successfully identified or arrested. This means that former REvil members could create a new platform or even possibly join one of the many other ransomware hacker groups.
The FBI most likely played some role in the takedown of REvil especially considering that they actually had a key capable of shutting the “Happy Blog” down. It will, however, be quite interesting to see how the US government and other governments around the world plan on cracking down on cybercrime. This would allow companies to feel somewhat safer much like how Sony and Microsoft must have felt when members of the infamousLizard Squadgroup were arrested after taking down the companies' respective online services over Christmas 2014.
