Banco de Brasília (BRB) suffered a ransomware attack last Monday (03) and has been dealing with blackmail by cybercriminals for three days. Attackers are demanding around 50 Bitcoin (BTC) in order not to leak what has been accessed to the public: 50 BTC, at the current price of the currency, equals around 5.2 million BRL.
According to cybercriminal Crydat, who contacted the TecMundo Thursday afternoon (06), Banco BRB would have until 15 to make the payment and not to leak the information.
LockBit ransomware claims yet another victim
The ransomware in question is LockBit, one of the most used versions of cybercrime today. The ransomware acts as a virtual world hijacker. It encrypts files on a system (hijacks) and requires a cryptocurrency payment for release.
According to information from an anonymous source, the group behind the attack is made up of Brazilians and uses the ransomware of the LockBit group as “ransomware as a service”. That is, basically the malicious program is bought and used by another team.
Yesterday evening (05), BRB issued the following statement to its customers: “BRB informs its customers that its systems are intermittent. The technology teams are working to get the operation normalized as soon as possible.”
The case is currently being examined by the Special Police Headquarters for the Suppression of Cybercrime by the Civil Police of the Federal District.
or TecMundo has contacted Banco BRB and is awaiting a position on the case.
BRB Initial Statement
Banco BRB
As a joint venture, BRB’s majority shareholder is the federal district government. It was created on December 10, 1964 and went into operation on July 12, 1966. With its creation, according to the official website, it was intended to provide the Federal District with a financial agent who would allow it to raise the necessary funds for the development of the region.
Banco de Brasília is constantly growing: in December 2018 it closed the year with 639 thousand customers, in 2021 it already had more than 3.5 million people and companies. In addition, BRB has become nationally famous for its partnership with the Rio de Janeiro football team Flamengo.
