A cybercrime gang based in Russia, known as the Clop gang, has issued an ultimatum to the victims of a recent hack that targeted British Airways, the BBC, and Boots,

all owned by International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG).

The attack, believed to be orchestrated by the Clop gang, impacted over 100,000 employees. The hackers have posted a notice on the dark web, stating that victims must email them before June 14, 2023, or else their stolen data will be made public.

The BBC has advised employees not to pay any ransom demands if made by the hackers.

The notice, seen by the BBC, included the statement, "This is an announcement to educate companies who use the Progress MOVEit product that there is a chance we have downloaded a significant amount of your data as part of an exceptional exploit."

Interestingly, the hackers have requested that the victims contact them, rather than the criminals initiating communication for ransom demands. This unconventional approach may be due to the overwhelming scale of the attack, making it difficult for the criminals to handle all the victim interactions.

Last week, the cybercriminals infiltrated MOVEit, a widely used business software, to gain access to personal data at potentially hundreds of other companies.

MOVEit is provided by Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) in the United States and is used by businesses worldwide. One of its users, payroll services provider Zellis, confirmed that data had been stolen from eight organizations, including Aer Lingus, the Nova Scotia Government, and the University of Rochester. Photo by ITSveronica, Wikimedia commons. Photo by ITSveronica, Wikimedia commons.