Quote:Advantech, the chip manufacturer, has confirmed that it received a ransom note from a Conti ransomware operation on Nov. 26 demanding 750 Bitcoin, which translates into about $14 million, to decrypt compromised files and delete the data they stole.
 
Just to let Advantech know they weren’t bluffing, the scammers published a list of files from a stolen .zip archive on their leak site. The ransom note claimed that the 3.03GB of data posted on the leak site accounted for about 2 percent of the total amount of data lifted ripped off from Advantech.
 
Advantech specializes in internet-of-things (IoT) intelligent systems, Industry 4.0, machine automation, embedded computing, embedded systems, transportation and more.

A statement provided to Bleeping Computer on behalf of Advantech acknowledged the attack and said “the stolen data was confidential but only contained low-value documents.” The statement added that the company is recovering and “functioning normally,” and will not be commenting on whether the ransom was paid.

Professionalized ransomware groups including Conti, Ragnar Locker, Maze, Clop and others have been exploiting security holes created by the emergency shift to remote work due to the pandemic, coupled with well-publicized leak sites to wreak havoc and wring millions out of unsuspecting companies like Advantech. And in the case of Advantech, the longer it waits to decide, the more expensive the ransom gets.