UPDATE: 2-Ransomware group in Russia linked to Royal Mail incident in the UK – Telegraph
(Additional background on Lockbit and Ransomware
LONDON, January 12 (Reuters) – A cyber incident that caused severe disruption to Royal Mail’s international services for export was caused by Lockbit. This ransomware group, which some cybersecurity experts believe has members in Russia according to Britain’s Telegraph newspaper.
Royal Mail, one the largest postal and parcel companies in the world, still couldn’t despatch items overseas as of Thursday according to an update posted on its website. It reported the incident on Wednesday.
The British postal company, part of International Distributions Services has warned customers not to send international export items until further notice.
Royal Mail declined to comment on Telegraph’s report. It had previously stated that it had engaged outside experts and notified security officials as it investigates the incident.
Ransomware or ransomware encrypts victims’ data and offers a key in exchange for large amounts of money. Ransomware has been on the rise in recent years.
Lockbit also claimed to be targeting a French cosmetics company called Nuxe according to a screenshot posted to darkfeed.io by the group’s blog. This website tracks ransomware groups.
Trend Micro, a cybersecurity firm, said that Lockbit ransomware was being detected around the globe, with organizations in Brazil, India, and the United States among the common targets.
The group, some cybersecurity experts believe has Russian members, was called “one of the most organised and professional criminal gangs in criminal underground”.
The Information Commissioner’s Office of Britain said that it would make inquiries about the Royal Mail incident. However, the National Cyber Security Centre stated it was working with the company as well as the National Crime Agency to “fully comprehend the impact”. (Reporting by Sachin Rajkumar; additional reporting by James Pearson, London, and Tassilo Hmel, Paris; Editing done by Hugh Lawson and Alexander Smith.