This new ransomware campaign targets business and demands a massive bitcoin ransom

A new ransomware campaign targeting large organisations in the US and around the world has made the attackers behind it over $640,000 in bitcoin in the space of just two weeks, and appears to be connected to Lazarus, the hacking group working out of North Korea.

“From the exploitation phase through to the encryption process and up to the ransom demand itself, the carefully operated Ryuk campaign is targeting enterprises that are capable of paying a lot of money in order to get back on track,” said security company Check Point.

Ryuk ransomware first emerged in mid-August and in the space of just days infected several organisations across the US, encrypting PCs and storage and data centres of victims and demanded huge Bitcoin ransoms – one organisation is believed to have paid 50 Bitcoin (around $320,000) after falling victim to the attack.

The new ransomware campaign has been detailed by the researchers at Check Point who…