Joshua Robertson reports:
Hackers extorted an international company based in Brisbane for a ransom paid out in bitcoin but then escalated their demands by threatening online attacks on a senior employee’s child, Queensland police have said.
The company, which police refused to identify, paid the hackers an initial ransom worth thousands of dollars after its computer system was hacked and sensitive data stolen earlier this year.
When the company refused a further larger ransom demand and contacted police, hackers then “profiled a senior member of the organisation, identified their family and threatened to discredit members of his family through online attacks particularly targeting a child”, police said.
Read more on The Guardian.