Royal Mail refused to pay "absurd" $80 million ransomware claim to LockBit operators.
Royal Mail refused to pay what it called an "absurd" ransomware claim when in negotation with LockBit.
Publishing what it claims is the full transcript of its negotiations with Royal Mail, the operators of LockBit demanded an $80 million ransom payment, according to TechCrunch.
The ransomware gang threatened to publish all stolen data from the Royal Mail in early February.
Royal Mail’s negotiator said it would not pay “the absurd amount of money,” according to the screenshots posted by LockBit. The LockBit operators apparently then offered a lower ransom sum, dropping the figure to $70 million on February 1st.
A spokesperson for the Royal Mail did not dispute the legitimacy of the chat logs when approached by TechCrunch, but declined to answer our questions. “As there is an ongoing investigation, law enforcement has advised that it would be inappropriate to make any further comment on this incident,” said a Royal Mail spokesperson, who declined to provide their name.
Written by
Dan Raywood
Senior Editor
SC Media UK
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 16 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Conference, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and ESET Security Days.
Outside work, Dan enjoys supporting Tottenham Hotspur, managing mischievous cats, and sampling craft beers.
