Security News > 2021 > September > BlackMatter Strikes Iowa Farmers Cooperative, Demands $5.9M Ransom

A ransomware group believed to be the latest incarnation of the infamous DarkSide cybergang is being blamed for taking out a farmers' cooperative online network, with extortionists demanding $5.9 million in ransom.

The group BlackMatter is credited for the attack on an Iowa collective of farmers called NEW Cooperative.

"This, predictably, appears to have fallen on deaf ears, with BlackMatter since claiming that they did not believe NEW Cooperative constituted," he said.

It's unclear if NEW Cooperative will pay the ransom or is in the position to recover its data and get systems back up and running in another way.

Conversations between representatives of the cooperative and BlackMatter leaked by security researchers on Twitter show that NEW Cooperative considers the attack as one that falls under the government's critical-infrastructure umbrella because of the potential disruption to the food supply chain.

Despite its opinion that the attack was not against critical infrastructure, BlackMatter ultimately will have to answer to the federal government, NEW Cooperative told the group.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/blackmatter-strikes-iowa-farmers-cooperative-demands-5-9m-ransom/174846/