Hackers Demand $50,000 Ransom Payment for Stolen Polish Defense Ministry Data

Let it be known; hackers are brash and bold in their actions of attacking web servers and collecting data to either sell it off or hold it for ransom. In the latest events of hacker activity on a larger scale, a group of hackers who identify themselves as "Pravvy Sector," are extorting the Polish Government through Twitter for data they have stolen from the Defense Ministry. The ransom held over the head of the Polish Defense Ministry is set at $50,000. If the ransom isn't paid, the hackers plan on leaking the data over the Internet for everyone to see.

We have seen an overabundance of ransom cases when it comes to compromised data, in addition to countless ransomware being spread to ultimately extort money from computer users. The group of hackers attempting to extort money from the Polish Government is quite bold in their efforts. Though, their ransom is evident of the outlandish actions that hackers are willing to take for the purpose of earning a nice payday.

The Pravyy Sector hacker group, also known as the Right Sector, is a name that is commonly used by an extremist Ukrainian nationalist organization that is activating in Russia. The hackers, so far, are claiming to represent the nationalist group and have leaked some of their Defense Ministry Data over the web on Twitter. The data includes official document scans or screenshots showing the desktop of Defense Ministry computers. Additionally, the data has shots of Excel files with over a thousand entries that appear to be Intranet logs with various logins that have been confirmed to be bogus.

To confirm that the small bit of data leaked as a proof of concept was legitimate, the Polish security firm Niebezpiecznik contacted a person on the leaked information and verified his personal details. The contacted individual also confirmed that the form leaked was one that military personnel must fill out when volunteering for service abroad, which he had served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So far, the Polish Defense Ministry has not confirmed nor denied data being leaked or compromised. If we look at history, it will reveal that the Polish Defense Ministry was once attacked successfully in March of 2013. A hacker at the time identified as Alladyn2 was able to attack the Ministry's computer network and reach the computer of the country's president just before his access was denied.

The Pravvy Sector, or Right Sector hacker group, has had other run-ins with other Polish entities, such as their telecommunications firm Netia. During the Netia attack, the hackers were able to force the hand of the firm where Netia later confirmed the data breach, but it took several days after the fact. In the case of the Polish Defense Ministry coming under attack, it could be several days or weeks before there is any confirmation made if any. Governments are mostly secretive and sometimes don't ever confirm coming under attack from a hacker group, even if they may have been ousted as terrorists.

As the events evolve, the Pravvy Sector is posting on Twitter (image below) as a warning that their ransom is coming to a head as they threaten to publish their compromised logs if $50,000 is not paid.

Pravvy Sector hacker Tweet demanding $50,000 ransom payment from Polish Government