coinfomania.com
Sodinokibi, a private ransomware operation also known as the REvil Ransomware has deposited 99 Bitcoin (appr $1 million) in a Russian-speaking hacker forum as part of its efforts to expand its workforce, Bleeping Computer reported Monday.
Following an announcement made by REvil in a forum where new affiliates are usually recruited, the group announced that they were recruiting hackers once again, to distribute their ransomware.
Members of this hacker forum are allowed to deposit bitcoins into a wallet that is being hosted by the site. These deposits are transparent to other members, and then, members can now use these deposited bitcoins to privately buy and sell illicit services or data via the forum.
Depositing as much as $1 million worth of Bitcoin in the forum to show how much they mean business and declared that they were only searching for a team of skilled hackers as pre-confirmed via penetration testing or rather experienced individuals. All are serving as part of the recruitment drive.
Per the recruitment requirement, REvil is looking for hackers who have experience and skill penetration testing and other relevant skills needed for the ransomware operation.
$1 million not a big deal?
The deposit, according to the group, is to boost the confidence of potential affiliates while giving them peace of mind.
Making a $1 million deposit just to encourage recruits only means that the group is generating much more money from its nefarious activities.
This is coupled with the fact that they don’t seem concerned that the forum administrators could steal the BTC they have deposited in the forum as the members’ bitcoin wallets are managed by the owners of the forum.
The cryptocurrency industry remains a primary target for hackers for many reasons. Just last week, Coinfomania reported that crypto exchange KuCoin suffered a security breach which led to the theft of over $150 million worth of cryptocurrencies.