Acer Reportedly Hit With $50M Crypto-Ransomware Demand

Taiwanese tech giant Acer may have fallen victim to a malware attack demanding the biggest cyber-ransom ever.

• Ransomware gang “REvil” is said to be demanding $50 million in the privacy coin monero to decrypt Acer computers, according to a Tech Radar report Monday.
• Sleuthing by an intelligence analyst from Malwarebytes and cyber news site The Record is said to have uncovered a REvil portal with details of the demands.
• The attack, not yet confirmed by Acer, is said to have locked up the firm's back-office network, but not its production systems, per the report.
• In screenshots posted on the portal, REvil called the Acer representative they were communicating with an “incompetent negotiator,” asking for their superiors to be brought into the negotiations.
• The gang has reportedly set a deadline of March 28 for its demands to be met.
• Monero is a privacy-focused coin that is designed to be more difficult to trace than other cryptocurrencies. It has recently been delisted by multiple exchanges because of its opaqueness and association with dark web activities.
• Acer is the world's fifth-largest computer maker, with almost 6% of global PC sales in Q4 2020, according to the latest Gartner data.
• CoinDesk reached out to Acer for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.

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