After public outrage: cybergang ends blackmail of British nurseries
A British kindergarten operator was supposed to pay to prevent photos and data of children from ending up on the darknet. Then the criminals backed down.
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Following public outrage over the attempted extortion of a British nursery school operator by cyber criminals, the gang has allegedly deleted all the photos and data on 8,000 children that were stolen. This was reported by the BBC, citing the gang, which calls itself Radiant. According to the report, the gang gained access to Kido Schools' systems days ago and then began publishing profiles of individual children on the darknet to extort a ransom. Later, affected parents were even contacted directly to put pressure on them to pay the demanded sum. Apparently, however, they were then surprised by the public outrage. They first softened the captured photos and have now allegedly deleted all data and apologized.
Investigations in the early stages
The British company Kido Schools operates numerous kindergartens in the UK, the USA, and India, but according to media reports, only the British facilities were impacted by the cyber attack. According to the BBC, the gang called Radiant did not gain access to Kido Schools' systems itself, but bought it from another cybercriminal. Radiant then began the blackmail attempt. In total, the gang probably wanted to extort just over 110,000 euros in the form of Bitcoin. According to Reuters, the London police began an investigation, but it was not very advanced.
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While the cyber criminals now claim that they ended the extortion attempt for moral reasons, cyber security expert Jen Ellis told the BBC that the cause was actually different. The gang were “visibly shocked” by the attention the attack had received and were now trying to protect their brand. Furthermore, it is impossible to verify whether the stolen data was actually deleted. However, according to the British news channel, it has at least received information that Kido Schools has not paid the ransom demanded. The attack would therefore be a loss-making business for the cyber gang. There are also indications that Radiant is comparatively inexperienced, writes the BBC.
(mho)
