Is this the real thing? (See what I did there? 😉 ) Or a bogus claim? The Russian-linked Stormous hacking group claimed a Coca-Cola hack on its website Monday, indicating that it retrieved 161 gigabytes of data.

As covered by The Daily Mail, the Russian-linked hacking group Stormous said it stole 161 gigabytes of financial data, passwords and accounts in its Coca-Cola hack before putting the information on the market for $640,000 or 16 million Bitcoin. The team revealed on Monday it had infiltrated the drinks company and got out “without their knowledge”. Coca-Cola said it has launched an urgent investigation and already contacted the police.

The Coca-Cola hack comes after the group reportedly put up a poll on Telegram asking which company it should hack. After 103 votes were cast, Coca-Cola received 72 percent.

Stormous is a relative newcomer in the hacking world but gained attention at the beginning of the year, when it said it had stolen 200 gigabytes of data from Epic Games and later made headlines when it announced its support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, writing in English at the beginning of March: “The Stromous team has officially announced its support for the Russian governments…And if any party in different parts of the world decides to organize a cyber attack or cyberattacks against Russia, we will be in the right direction, will make all our efforts to abandon the supplication of the West, especially the infrastructure.”

It also issued a warning against “western unions” and US-based companies, after it said it was “attacked” by US companies that shut down their site.

This after Coca-Cola announced it was suspending its operations in Russia in opposition to its invasion, stating: “Our hearts are with the people who are enduring unconscionable effects from these tragic events in Ukraine.”

This isn’t exactly “the pause that refreshes” but it gives me pause as to whether this is the beginning of a flood of Russian attacks on American companies. I hope not.

So, what do you think?  Do you think the Coca-Cola hack signals an onslaught of US cyberattacks by Russian hackers? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Image Copyright © The Coca-Cola Company

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