Electronics Retail Outlet MediaMarkt Hit by Ransomware Demand For $50M In Bitcoin

A Hive ransomware attack with demands has hit electronics retail giant MediaMarkt with a demand to pay $50 million in Bitcoin BTC/USD.

According to a Decrypt report, various key services of the company have been compromised, including credit and debit cards at multiple stores. 

With the attack, the IT systems shut, and store operations were disrupted in the Netherlands and Germany, where the store could not accept any credit or debit card payment.

The attack took place on Sunday, and the initial demand for ransom payment was $240 million. 

According to a retail site report, the amount had been reduced to $50 million, with payment demanded in Bitcoin. 

MediaMarkt is Europe’s largest electronics retailer, with over 1,000 stores across Europe. Its reported revenue is close to $25 billion per year.

Ransomware is a malware designed to lock down systems by encrypting data, with the attackers then demanding payment to regain access.

This year’s arguably most significant ransomware attack was on the U.S. Colonial Pipeline. It led to a five-day shutdown of the pipeline due to the cyber-attack.

Colonial Pipeline paid nearly $5 million in untraceable cryptocurrency to the ransomware perpetrators who shut down the nation’s largest fuel pipeline.