Security News > 2023 > February > Ransomware hits Technion university, protests tech layoffs and Israel
A new ransomware group going by the name 'DarkBit' has hit Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, one of Israel's leading research universities.
The ransom note posted by DarkBit is littered with messaging protesting tech layoffs and promoting anti-Israel rhetoric, as well as the group demanding a $1.7 million payment.
"The Technion is under a cyber attack. The scope and nature of the attack are under investigation," the university said in a statement released in Hebrew.
A ransom note from the new 'DarkBit' ransomware group was left on the university's systems, where the attackers demanded 80 Bitcoin or roughly US$ 1,745,200 to release the decryptor to the university.
While attacking Israel for being an "Aparheid regime," DarkBit attackers want to make them pay for "War crimes against humanity" and "Firing high-skilled experts."
Depending on how one interprets the wording, the attack seems to be DarkBit's way of taking revenge for layoffs that may have involved its members.