Argentina’s telecommunications hacked, demands Monero for ransom

[Yaunfitda]

^^, yeah, I agree that it seems strange that the hacker suddenly switch their demand from bitcoin to monero. Maybe they don't want to go to another layer of using mixers or any another conjoin services because of the risk of Chainalysis.

This is also what I thought initially, maybe they already learned their lessons and that monero offer them more flexibility to liquidate.

Perhaps they need to assessed what data this the criminals get but for sure, names/addresses/personal info of their customers. If they don't pay, then for sure we will find this data being sold on the darkweb.

And that is the sad part of it, we are customers are going to be affected negatively with this breach specially that our data will be sold and we don't know what they are going to do with it, but for sure we have been exploited in this way.

[Baofeng]

Most of the time companies do not comply with these type of offers, it is really not a smart decision because if you pay them, they could simply just not give everything back and request for more, it doesn't make sense for both the company and for hackers to request something like this because they should have seen it from companies perspective like I do.

But there are still who pay this hackers the ransom money because they want to get their data back.

99% of the time the company usually reaches down to the most core technological level of the situation as they can and either use a backup and lose a lot of data but still continue without trouble, or simply just move on like nothing happened with tons of losses. If you lose 7.5 million dollars to a criminal, it is worse than losing 20 million because of getting it back yourself, so companies will do their best to get it themselves without paying.

Again, there are some companies who haven't seen this kind of attacks and sadly has poor backup procedures and they learn it the hard way, until the hackers gets all the data from them and ask fro money.

Monero? Looks like the hackers did their homework here and not wanting a coin that is not anonymous and that can easily be followed. For sure this will put Monero again in bad light.

[Twinkledoe]

Most of the time companies do not comply with these type of offers, it is really not a smart decision because if you pay them, they could simply just not give everything back and request for more, it doesn't make sense for both the company and for hackers to request something like this because they should have seen it from companies perspective like I do.

But there are still who pay this hackers the ransom money because they want to get their data back.

99% of the time the company usually reaches down to the most core technological level of the situation as they can and either use a backup and lose a lot of data but still continue without trouble, or simply just move on like nothing happened with tons of losses. If you lose 7.5 million dollars to a criminal, it is worse than losing 20 million because of getting it back yourself, so companies will do their best to get it themselves without paying.

Again, there are some companies who haven't seen this kind of attacks and sadly has poor backup procedures and they learn it the hard way, until the hackers gets all the data from them and ask fro money.

Monero? Looks like the hackers did their homework here and not wanting a coin that is not anonymous and that can easily be followed. For sure this will put Monero again in bad light.

Bad light? But bad publicity is still publicity. So now, people are learning that monero has this anonymity feature that they can use to their advantage. Interesting if the company will really pay these hackers. Are they going to ask help from other organizations like CIA to attack this situation?

[Eddyc]

Maybe this type of problem can be analyzed in another way and use this negative moment to expand and innovate the Argentine technological sector. At many times, we find the governments' comfort in relation to the internal infrastructure and this affects the country's development. It's worth mentioning that I don't support this type of criminal action, but only showing that a failure can be fatal, but there is a possibility of a new beginning.

[dentolas]

Hackers are definitely getting more expert, Monero is a wise choice to avoid tracking... the world needs to face digitalization as soon as possible instead of turning their backs to it... this kind of thing will be happening more and more until society is ready for these attacks, and this means to have professionals and departments to deal with this kind of stuff

[ene1980]

It's interesting that the hackers are now demanding Monero, instead of the usual BTC which is the mode of ransom for many such attacks. Its for $7.5 million, and that is huge amount, I don't know if the company are willing to comply though, so let's see how things will turn out.

Looks like the hackers have learned their lesson the hard way as you can ask for a ransom with bitcoin and expect to be anonymous and hence they are venturing into other coins that are advertising themselves as secure anonymous coins and if there is long list of hackers demanding monero then the developers will have a hard time with the authorities.

[NeuroticFish]

Well, one of the first news after the twitter hack was that Genimi will track the funds and will not allow withdrawal if their exchange is used. Of course that such news will make the hackers turn to Monero.

This is quite a praise for Monero capabilities, but it's also bad news since this kind of actions could make some more exchanges (which are usually eager to comply with authorities' rules) delist Monero.

But since it's such a huge amount I am confident the ransom will not be paid.

[Yaunfitda]

Well, one of the first news after the twitter hack was that Genimi will track the funds and will not allow withdrawal if their exchange is used. Of course that such news will make the hackers turn to Monero.

This is quite a praise for Monero capabilities, but it's also bad news since this kind of actions could make some more exchanges (which are usually eager to comply with authorities' rules) delist Monero.

But since it's such a huge amount I am confident the ransom will not be paid.

This is more of a bad news for Monero, remember that exchanges are really hard on them. Some exchanges are delisting them because of its capacity to hide tracks and it's privacy features that has been taken advantage of criminals. And with this news, this will amplify again, best scenario is for the company not paying this criminals.

[thesmallgod]

I guess that are looking for a currency that provide complete anonymous transaction without having to start using mixing services. Monero seems to be the choice for them. If they successfully pay the hackers the ransom without them getting arrested, it is likely hackers change from demanding for BTC to Monero for paying ransom and the next questions will be how to trace monero collected in such cases.

[hatshepsut93]

Criminals often choose to demand Bitcoin for ransom because it's the most popular coins, so it increases the chances of getting paid. I don't think they were sleeping on Monero before, what has changed now is that chainanalysis gets stronger and stronger, the companies that were doing it now have many years of experience, through which they were perfecting their algorithms. I expect that Monero will be used more and more for crime, which is good for Bitcoin, for now.

[plvbob0070]

We all know why the hackers are demanding Monero instead of bitcoin, but this kind of scenario such as hacking, scamming, and other illegal activities are really the downside that can affect the crypto.

But I'm curious what action they did and if they really gave those hackers what they are asking. It's the largest telecommunication company in the said country and it also involves a huge amount of money. It won't be easy to track those hackers and it's not a joke, and knowing that we've seen more crypto hacking related news, it can affect the market and the industry.

[kensaii]

I'm betting this whole mess caused by one employee clicked on the wrong link either by mail or porn and allowed it to run and infected the whole network. The IT desk should take responsibility too for not having data backup in another way in case of hacks like this.

[Mpamaegbu]

This is quite a praise for Monero capabilities, but it's also bad news since this kind of actions could make some more exchanges (which are usually eager to comply with authorities' rules) delist Monero.

A concrete reaction to your perspective is, "Has any exchange delisted Bitcoin?" No? Has Bitcoin not been used to collect ransom and why no exchange has sanctioned it? Well, let's go pass that and face reality. I don't think anything exchange will attempts, except the exchange was already on the process of delisting it before the hack. Otherwise, nothing in that direction will happen. It's the same way no country has sanctioned its currency because it was used for something untoward.

[disconnectme]

I don't think they have any choice not to pay, I believe the hackers knows what they are doing because Monero is the darkest privacy coin in the space. This could be a good and bad thing for Monero because some exchange may decided to stop the trading because most of them want to be in the good book of the Governments but the market may become more bullish on it because it is a dark markets contributions to the space is huge

[tycsols]

Argentina’s telecommunications hacked and called for rescue in Monero
by Amber Baxter July 19, 2020
Telecommunications, Argentina’s largest telecommunications company was the victim of a ransomware attack as reported by several users on Twitter. Hackers are demanding $ 7.5 million in Monero (XMR), an amount that would increase to 15 million if the company doesn’t pay in less than 48 hours.

https://www.europeworldnews.com/argentinas-telecommunications-hacked-and-called-for-rescue-in-monero

It's interesting that the hackers are now demanding Monero, instead of the usual BTC which is the mode of ransom for many such attacks. Its for $7.5 million, and that is huge amount, I don't know if the company are willing to comply though, so let's see how things will turn out.

Such news definitely defame cryptocurrencies indirectly because they are used to stay anonymous but at the sametime such fraudsters are taking huge value without revealing their identities.
This situation also explains why authorities and regulators do not like completely anonymous cryptocurrencies like monero so it seems that the regulatory compliance for coins like monero is never going to be realized.

[Horionion]

It is so sad to see situation like this. Hackers are becoming more dangerous by the day. If only we can have a way of preventing events like this one it would have been better. The telecommunication company need to protect their data, they will have no choice than to bargain.

[Sanugarid]

This is quite a praise for Monero capabilities, but it's also bad news since this kind of actions could make some more exchanges (which are usually eager to comply with authorities' rules) delist Monero.

A concrete reaction to your perspective is, "Has any exchange delisted Bitcoin?" No? Has Bitcoin not been used to collect ransom and why no exchange has sanctioned it? Well, let's go pass that and face reality. I don't think anything exchange will attempts, except the exchange was already on the process of delisting it before the hack.

Why would some exchange delist Monero for such involvement in a far far incident to them? lol ransomware is not new, they could ask for fiat if they want to but they aren't that fool to demand a marked money from anyone, so they use a cryptocurrency, luckily they have chosen Monero could be anything or ethereum for best option but they didn't, I don't know the motive but it seems like they deliberately drop bitcoin for an option. These guys are smart enough, when this happened the price of bitcoin is staying at a very short price range so they probably pick Monero so they will be getting a higher amount than they are demanding for. Now that bitcoin is increasing, they are regretting for not choosing it for sure    Either way this is not good for the health of the crypto community, news like this often leads to a major decline of the market which might take some time to effect.

Otherwise, nothing in that direction will happen. It's the same way no country has sanctioned its currency because it was used for something untoward.

It's like prohibiting guns because it can kill people, same vibe as this, very foolish idea. There were already a bunch of scam involving bitcoin yet, all of the exchanges has it on the top of their list, even their priority coin.

[Febo]

This attack and hacks is ruining the reputation of Bitcoin. Last time, it was some group of hackers demanding BTC on Twitter.
Believe me, in one way or the other, US and many developed countries will find it difficult to recognize crypto as friendly investments. The privacy afforded by Monero has done more harm than good especially in dark web.

But that twitter hack situation was different. There they asked send me and we will send you back. So send fast no time to learn about Monero. Now is a demanding ransom and Argentina Telecom have time to learn about Monero and buy it.  Many people have Bitcoin lying in their wallets. Rare have Monero.

[darewaller]

Argentina’s telecommunications hacked and called for rescue in Monero
by Amber Baxter July 19, 2020
Telecommunications, Argentina’s largest telecommunications company was the victim of a ransomware attack as reported by several users on Twitter. Hackers are demanding $ 7.5 million in Monero (XMR), an amount that would increase to 15 million if the company doesn’t pay in less than 48 hours.

https://www.europeworldnews.com/argentinas-telecommunications-hacked-and-called-for-rescue-in-monero

It's interesting that the hackers are now demanding Monero, instead of the usual BTC which is the mode of ransom for many such attacks. Its for $7.5 million, and that is huge amount, I don't know if the company are willing to comply though, so let's see how things will turn out.

Monero (XMR) was already a trending crypto currency and an accepted payment method in the dark web. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to me that the hackers are demanding Monero in exchange. The hackers appear to be pretty smart as from their tactic of doubling the ransom amount if not paid in 48 hours, it is clear that they want to make a quick clean trade.

Moreover, asking for Monero instead of Bitcoin makes sense as XMR offers a much high level of privacy than BTC. It is basically a privacy coin which also focuses on fungibility and decentralization. Therefore, its superior to Bitcoin in terms of privacy and security.

[bearexin]

Must be hard for Telecommunications to even try to contact Monero, I doubt Monero could find a solution for this attack. It was the ransomware attack after all so they have to pay to keep their data. What could Monero do?

That’s true. Even if the company is able to get in touch with the team of Monero, there is nothing that can be achieved.
If someone is trying to extort money from you, you do not go to the bank saying that save my money or get my money back or help me track it or something as the bank isn’t responsible for any of it.

Same scenario is with monero as it is not responsible for the theft or hacking. Moreover, being a high-end privacy coin and decentralized at the same time, there is no way to track down the receiver or revert the sent payment.