E-Financial
Hackers Demand $70m after Kaseya Ransomware Attack
Hackers were on Monday demanding $70 million in bitcoin in exchange for data stolen during a “gargantuan” attack on a US IT company that has shuttered hundreds of Swedish supermarkets.
AFP reported that researchers believe more than 1,000 companies could have been affected by the attack on Miami-based firm Kaseya, which provides IT services to some 40,000 businesses around the world.
The FBI warned Sunday that the scale of the “ransomware” attack — a form of digital hostage-taking where hackers encrypt victims’ data and then demand money for restored access — is so large that it may be “unable to respond to each victim individually”.
“It’s probably the biggest ransomware attack of all time,” said Ciaran Martin, cybersecurity professor at the University of Oxford.
“Because of the nature of the attack there’s still a lot of uncertainty over its impact,” he stressed.
But he added that because this was a “supply chain attack” — targeting a company serving thousands of firms, many of whom in turn provide IT support to smaller businesses such as car dealerships — the total number of victims was potentially huge.
Sweden’s Coop supermarket chain was among the indirect victims, with its cash registers paralysed since Friday when its IT subcontractor Visma Esscom was hit by the attack.
Most of Coop’s 800 stores were still closed Monday, spokesman Kevin Bell told AFP, with the few hundred that have reopened relying on alternative payment solutions such as customers paying using their smartphones.
Cybersecurity firm ESET said it had identified victims of the hack in at least 17 countries, from South Africa to Britain to Mexico. New Zealand’s education ministry said at least two schools there had been affected.
‘REvil hackers suspected’
A banner with the logo of bitcoin is seen during the crypto-currency conference Bitcoin 2021 Convention at the Mana Convention Center in Miami, Florida, on June 4, 2021. Marco BELLO / AFP
Experts believe the attack was probably carried out by REvil, a Russian-speaking hacking group known as a prolific perpetrator of ransomware attacks.
A post on Happy Blog, a site on the dark web previously associated with the group, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had infected “more than a million systems” — which if true would make this attack “absolutely gargantuan in scale”, according to Martin.
The FBI believes that REvil, which also goes by the name Sodinokibi, was behind a ransomware attack last month on global meat-processing giant JBS. The Brazil-based company ended up paying $11 million in bitcoin to the hackers.
The hackers’ blog post said they would release a decryption tool online “so everyone will be able to recover from attack in less than an hour” — if they were handed $70 million in bitcoin.
The hackers have also been reaching out to individual victims and demanding smaller ransoms, Martin said.
“As far as I understand it, they’ve been issuing demands that are about $50,000 for smaller organisations, rising to $5 million for larger organisations,” he told AFP. “We don’t know who’s paid.”
Kaseya said Sunday it believed the damage had been restricted to a “very small number” of customers using its signature VSA software, which lets companies manage networks of computers and printers from a single point.
But cybersecurity firm Huntress Labs said in a Reddit forum that it was working with partners targeted in the attack, and that the software was manipulated “to encrypt more than 1,000 companies”.
Kaseya said it had “immediately shut down” its servers after detecting the attack on Friday and warned its VSA customers to do the same, “to prevent them from being compromised”.
The company has released a tool allowing its customers to find out whether their own computer systems have been compromised by the attack.
‘State-tolerated’ hacking’
In recent months numerous US companies, including the computer group SolarWinds and the Colonial oil pipeline, have been the victims of high-profile ransomware attacks, which the FBI blames on hackers based in Russia.
While Washington officials do not accuse the Russian government of direct involvement in such attacks, they say the country is harbouring hackers who should be arrested.
US President Joe Biden raised the threat in talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last month, and on Saturday ordered a full investigation into the Kaseya attack.
“Most experts would take the view that it’s highly unlikely that it’s state-directed,” Martin said of this latest cyber-assault. “It’s state-tolerated.”
Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed July 1, 2025, for the commencement of trial in a money laundering case involving Cititrust Holdings PLC and three of its subsidiaries.
The subsidiaries are Cititrust Funding PLC, Cititrust Credit Limited and Cititrust Financial Services Limited,
The companies are facing an eight-count charge filed by a team of prosecutors from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), comprising Anasoh Henry Onyekachi, Frankklin Ofoma, Abdulhamid Lamido Tukur, and A.A. Usman.
According to the charge, between 2021 and 2023, the companies, all incorporated in Nigeria, allegedly operated investment management services without a valid licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This act contravenes Section 57 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and is punishable under Section 57(5) of the same legislation.
The prosecution also alleged that the companies conducted a Collective Investment Scheme without registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), another violation of regulatory requirements.
In one of the counts, Cititrust Credit Limited is specifically accused of failing to report high-value financial transactions to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
These transactions include a N20 million transfer on January 7, 2021; a N200 million transfer on April 4, 2021; and a N200 million lodgement on January 29, 2021.
Additionally, both Cititrust Credit Limited and Cititrust Financial Services Limited are alleged to have made a single transfer and lodgement respectively of N42 million into their bank accounts on January 29, 2021, without proper disclosure to relevant authorities.
The alleged offences are in breach of Sections 11(1)(b) and 11(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022, as well as Section 54(1) of the Investment and Securities Act 2007, and are punishable under the respective laws.
The court is expected to begin full proceedings on July 1.
Ecobank Nigeria’s long-term issuer credit rating has been downgraded to ‘CCC-’ from CCC, with the outlook placed at negative by S&P Global Ratings. This is a resultant effect of the $150 million bond buyback offer on the bank’s $300 million Senior Unsecured Eurobond.
Part of the tender offer made by Ecobank includes an early tender premium of $12.50 for every $1,000 in principal (equivalent to 1.25%), with the anticipated settlement date set for July 8, 2025. The offer also requests bondholders’ consent to eliminate the capital adequacy covenant on the outstanding notes.
These actions also led S&P to downgrade the $300 million Eurobond from ‘CCC’ to ‘CCC-’. Although S&P notes that it does not consider the tender offer a distressed debt restructuring.
However, this assessment is at risk of changing if the bank does not receive the promised capital injection from the parent group, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI).
Following the naira devaluation, Ecobank was unable to meet the regulatory Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) requirement, as its CAR dropped to 7 per cent. This was below the 10 percent regulatory minimum. The breach of the CAR caused the bank to seek the consent of its bondholders to pause the capital adequacy notes on the Eurobond notes till September 2025.
Following this development, the bank received a $50 million prepayment on promissory notes from its parent company, ETI, along with early repayments on certain foreign currency loans. However, it has been insufficient in restoring the capital adequacy to regulatory levels.
According to S&P, the bank is expected to receive another $50 million capital injection from its parent group before August 2025. However, the ratings agency notes that if the bank is unable to receive this capital injection, it will inevitably default on its bonds. A situation that would cause a further downgrade to ‘CC’.
It was recommended that Ecobank Nigeria consider raising $150 million through additional Tier-1 instruments to strengthen its liquidity buffers. Additionally, the bank was advised to intensify efforts to recover its foreign currency-denominated loans.
Fidelity Bank Plc, leading financial institution has reaffirmed its commitment to corporate social responsibility with the donation of food and essential items to the Old People’s Home in Yaba, Lagos.
The donation was made possible through the generosity of the bank’s Nexus Inductees Class, under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative known as the Fidelity Helping Hands Programme (FHHP).
Through the FHHP, staff across Fidelity Bank branches nationwide identify crucial interventions needed in their immediate community and raise funds to execute them. The bank’s management then matches this contribution with an equal amount and disburses it for the selected project.
Commenting on the donation, Divisional Head, Brand and Communications, Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr Meksley Nwagboh, emphasized the bank’s unwavering commitment to impacting its host communities positively noting that the community is an essential part of the bank success story.
“Today’s donation is a token of our appreciation for our incredible parents and guardians who have raised outstanding individuals that trust us with their banking needs.
“Our donation to the Old People’s Home reflects our deep commitment to supporting the well-being and dignity of our senior citizens.
“We are honored to contribute to a cause that ensures they receive the care, comfort, and respect they deserve.” Nwagboh stated.
Appreciating the gesture from the bank, the Director-in-Charge of the Home in Yaba, Adetutu Ipaye, said “Community support initiatives such as this from Fidelity Bank is vital to sustaining our mission and enhancing the quality of life for the elderly.
“We urge other organizations to follow in the Bank’s footsteps as this kind of support will go a long way to ensure that the elderly live with dignity and comfort”.
One of the beneficiaries from the home, Mr. Kamoru Adeyetu noted that, “Your presence today has brought us immense joy, and our greatest happiness lies in seeing the younger generation thrive. Beyond the gifts, your visit means the world to us and please remember to visit us regularly.”
Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 9.1 million customers through digital banking channels, its 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine. Additionally, the Bank was recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence and as the Export Financing Bank of the Year by the BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.
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