The hacker group Rhysida has put up for auction stolen personal data from the Maryland Department of Transportation. The sale includes information such as Social Security numbers, residential addresses, and dates of birth. The starting price for the lot is 30 BTC, which is currently equivalent to approximately $3.4 million.
This is reported by Business • Media
Details of the Incident and Government Response
The perpetrators plan to transfer the full extent of the data to a single buyer within seven days after the auction concludes. State officials have confirmed unauthorized access to the department’s system and have announced the initiation of an official investigation. However, it has not yet been disclosed which specific categories of data were compromised, and the details of the incident remain unknown.
“The agency has recommended that employees and users of transportation systems take additional security measures: change passwords, update software, and enable two-factor authentication.”
The recommendations aim to enhance the protection of personal accounts and corporate systems to reduce risks if the stolen data falls into the hands of cybercriminals.
Features of Rhysida’s Activities and Trends in the Ransom Data Market
According to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Rhysida has been active since 2023 and specializes in attacks on government institutions, educational establishments, medical organizations, manufacturing enterprises, and IT companies. Hackers often threaten to publicly disclose stolen data if victims do not pay the ransom in cryptocurrency.
The use of Bitcoin for ransom payments remains a common practice among ransomware operators, as the difficulty in tracking cryptocurrency transactions significantly complicates the search for criminals. In July, the U.S. Department of Justice initiated the seizure of $2.3 million in cryptocurrency from the Chaos group.
Despite the increase in attacks, total payments to hackers in 2024 decreased by 35% compared to 2023, amounting to approximately $813 million. Experts attribute this trend to increased international oversight and more active cooperation among law enforcement agencies from various countries.
Previously, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao urged cryptocurrency companies to take cyber threats from North Korean hacker groups more seriously.