Anonymous Sudan hikes ransom demand to $10m from Scandinavian airline SAS  

Self-styled hacktivist group Anonymous Sudan has increased the ransom demand made to Scandinavian airline SAS to a whopping $10 million after the airline refused to engage with it.

The hacktivist group claims it targeted Scandinavian airline SAS in May, knocking the airline’s website and applications offline. The attack occurred less than six months after a similar cyber attack affected the airline’s operations.

The security incident came to light when SAS customers started complaining on social media that they were unable to visit the airline’s website and carry out necessary tasks before boarding their flights.

Anonymous Sudan in May claimed responsibility for the cyber attack on SAS and listed the airline as a victim on its Telegram channel. “We were bored and we missed Sweden and we missed Scandinavian Airlines so we dropped the SAS app and website,” the group wrote in a post uploaded on May 24 on its Telegram channel. The group continued to publish fresh posts, mostly mocking the airline.

“Let us play a beautiful game with you, SAS company. You previously tried to repel the attack and were unable, and this is the second strike that we proved to you that we can. What do you think we tell you how to repel the attack for $3,500? Or blackmail you and take $3,500 to stop the attack? Otherwise we will continue the attack and will leak something you will not like,” another post read.

Anonymous Sudan initially increased the ransom amount to $175,000 as the airline did not meet the hacker group’s demand and said it will continue to increase the ransom amount and keep the airline’s services down till it pays up.

On May 29, the group hiked the ransom demand to $3,000,000, stating that it will continue to increase the ransom figure until the airline accepts its demand. On June 2, the hacktivist group increased the ransom demand to $10 million.