Is the Conti gang still around after their Costa Rican attack? One US government program seems to think so, as they have offered a $10 million reward on Conti gang information.
According to Naked Security (US offers reward “up to $10 million” for information about the Conti gang, hat tip to Sharon Nelson’s excellent Ride the Lightning blog for the initial coverage), the US program Rewards for Justice has officially and publicly offered a reward of “up to $10 million” under the single-word headline Conti. As the reward offer states:
“First detected in 2019, Conti ransomware has been used to conduct more than 1,000 ransomware operations targeting U.S. and international critical infrastructure, such as law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, 9-1-1 dispatch centers, and municipalities. These healthcare and first responder networks are among the more than 400 organizations worldwide victimized by Conti, over 290 of which are located in the United States.
Conti operators typically steal victims’ files and encrypt the servers and workstations in an effort to force a ransom payment from the victim. The ransom letter instructs victims to contact the actors through an online portal to complete the transaction. If the ransom is not paid, the stolen data is sold or published to a public site controlled by the Conti actors. Ransom amounts vary widely, with some ransom demands being as high as $25 million.”
They also note: “Malicious cyber actors known by their online aliases of ‘Target,’ ‘Reshaev,’ ‘Professor,’ ‘Tramp,’ and ‘Dandis’ are believed to be linked to the Conti ransomware group.”
Rewards for Justice (RfJ) is a global US anti-crime and anti-terrorism initiative administered by the US Diplomatic Service on behalf of the US Department of State (the government body that many English-speaking countries refer to as “Foreign Affairs” or “the Foreign Ministry”).
The RfJ program dates back nearly 40 years, during which time it claims to have paid out about $250 million to more than 125 different people worldwide, which reflects mean average payouts of about $2,000,000 about three times each year.
Will this reward on Conti gang information flush out the gang, or at least cyber actors who operate or operated within it? We’ll see.
So, what do you think? Do you think a $10 million reward on Conti gang information will help catch any gang members? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.