Ransomware Groups Claim Sony Data Breach

• September 27th, 2023
Online Privacy, Online Safety, PC security, Ransomware

Recently, Sony, a big name in both tech and entertainment, found itself at the center of a confusing situation where not one, but two different hacker groups each said they were the ones who pulled off a cyberattack on the company.

A newly emerged hacking group known as RansomedVC claimed to have infiltrated all of Sony’s computing networks and issued a warning that they would monetize the stolen data if Sony did not meet their financial demands. Adding complexity to an already puzzling situation, another hacker identifying as MajorNelson contested RansomedVC’s claims, asserting they were the real culprits and even provided some of the data they claimed to have extracted from Sony.

Now, here’s where things get extra tricky: RansomedVC only showed a tiny piece—about 2 megabytes—of what they say is a massive 260-gigabyte data collection, which they claim is worth a whopping $2.5 million. On the other hand, MajorNelson revealed a much larger chunk of data, around 3.14 gigabytes, that seems to include passwords and other important files from inside Sony.

While RansomedVC is a new player in the hacking game, starting up just over a month ago, they claim to have already targeted 41 victims, mostly smaller businesses in Bulgaria. MajorNelson seems to work alone and came out strongly against RansomedVC, saying they’re the real deal and RansomedVC isn’t.

There are still a lot of questions about what kind of data got taken and how big of a deal this really is. Right now, it seems like the data might not include super-secret stuff, but could contain info from different tools that Sony’s developers use. While some experts are saying that RansomedVC is just a group of “amateurs” looking for attention, it’s still a situation that needs to be watched closely..

As of now, Sony is looking into it but hasn’t come out to say whether these hacking claims are true or false. Meanwhile, RansomedVC has changed their story a bit, now saying they’re selling “a way into Sony’s computer systems” instead of actual data.

So, here’s the big takeaway: the world of cyber threats is getting more complicated by the day, with different groups often trying to hack into the same targets. In this fast-changing world, companies and everyday people like us need to be super careful and keep adapting to make sure we’re safe from these kinds of threats.