Ransomware—to pay or not to pay—this is the drama facing multinational foreign currency company Travelex at the beginning of 2020. The company’s office in London has fallen victim to a ransomware cyber attack paralysing its entire network and causing the company to take down its websites worldwide.
Ransomware attacks are on the increase worldwide, with a worrying resurgence in the last two years. Variants such as Sodinokibi, the malware used in the attack on Travelex, have caused havoc for businesses and government agencies globally in targeted ransomware attacks intent upon extorting millions of pounds/dollars/the bitcoin equivalent. In this case the attackers have demanded £2.3m to allow the company back into its own systems. It is still unclear how those negotiations are being played out.
Sodinokibi seems to be the current malware of choice. It was used in previous attacks by imitating Booking.com, a legitimate hotel booking service in order to entice users to open a malicious
