WASHINGTON – Alphabet’s Google has issued a major warning regarding a new wave of cyber threats targeting top executives across numerous organisations. Hackers are sending high-volume emails claiming to have successfully exfiltrated sensitive business data from their Oracle E-Business Suite applications and are demanding massive payouts to prevent the information from being leaked publicly.
In a statement, Google specified that a group claiming ties to the infamous ransomware gang cl0p was behind the campaign, targeting “executives at numerous organisations claiming to have stolen sensitive data.”
While the threat appears widespread, Google struck a cautious tone, stating it “does not currently have sufficient evidence to definitively assess the veracity of these claims.”
The financial stakes are extremely high. Cynthia Kaiser, the head of the Ransomware Research Centre at the cybersecurity firm Halcyon, reported that her company has observed extortion demands “in the seven or eight figure range,” with the highest demand reaching $50 million.
Kaiser noted there is some debate regarding a direct connection to cl0p, but acknowledged early indications that the perpetrators could potentially be linked to the group. “There’s so much overlap amongst all these groups, and there are copycats across the ecosystem,” Kaiser explained, suggesting that more information will be needed in the coming days to establish a clearer picture of the culprits.
Neither cl0p nor Oracle responded to requests for comment. Google described the campaign as “high-volume” but declined to share further operational details about the ongoing threat.
