Hacking gang says it has locked a million devices and wants $70m in Bitcoin to unlock them

A hacking group claims to have locked more than a million devices, demanding Bitcoin payments. (AFP via Getty Images)
A hacking group claims to have locked more than a million devices, demanding Bitcoin payments. (AFP via Getty Images)

A hacking group behind a major Fourth of July crime spree has said they have locked more than a million individual devices and want $70 million in bitcoin to release them.

Known as REvil, a Russia-connected hacking gang, the group reportedly first began its crime spree on Friday, hacking Kaseya, a software firm helping companies manage software updates.

According to NBC News, the group targeted individual computers and initially asked for $45,000 to unlock each one.

The Swedish grocery chain Coop is the biggest known victim, with the company forced to close most of its 800 shops on Saturday as its registers are controlled online.

President Joe Biden said on Sunday he has “directed the full resources” of the government to address the incident.

More to come...

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