Kia Motors America Victim of Ransomware Attack Demanding $20M in Bitcoin, Report Claims

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18 February 2021

Kia Motors America has reportedly fallen victim to a ransomware attack demanding more than $20 million worth of bitcoin.

  • The ransomware group DoppelPaymer is demanding 404.5833 BTC (currently valued at $20,844,336) to pay for a decryption tool or stolen data will be shared to the public, BleepingComputer reported Wednesday.
  • This amount demanded would rise to 600 bitcoins (over $30 million) if not paid within 10 days.
  • Kia Motors America is suffering a severe IT outage taking its website, phone services and web systems offline.
  • BleepingComputer said it had "obtained a ransom note that we were told was created during an alleged Kia Motors America cyberattack by the DoppelPaymer gang."
  • The auto firm later told BleepingComputer that it has no evidence it suffered a ransomware attack.
  • It isn't clear what data the group might have stolen, per the report.

See also: US Government Takes Aim at NetWalker Ransomware Attacks

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