Security News > 2024 > February > Uncle Sam sweetens the pot with $15M bounty on Hive ransomware gang members

The US government has placed an extra $5 million bounty on Hive ransomware gang members - its second such reward in a year.

The FBI has also put up an additional $5 million award for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of any person "Conspiring to participate in or attempting to participate in Hive ransomware activity."

The FBI was as a result ultimately able to provide decryption keys to more than 1,300 current and previous victims of Hive around the globe, saving them a collective $130 million in ransomware payments and "Crippling Hive's ability to sting again," FBI director Christopher Wray boasted at the time.

A few days later, the State Department offered a $10 million reward for intel on Hive ransomware criminals' identities and whereabouts, even seeking information on Hive members "Acting under the direction or control of a foreign government."

The cryptocurrency analytics firm also noted that the Hive takedown likely played a non-trivial role in the 2022 drop in ransomware payments, which otherwise have been escalating since 2019.

For its part, Chainalysis reckoned the Hive bust more likely averted at least $210.4 million in ransomware payments.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/09/hive_leaders_bounty/