Web Hosting Company Pays $1 Million to Hackers Following Ransomware Infection

Ransomware is once again making the headlines, this time because a South Korean web hosting provider agreed to pay more than $1 million to hackers to restore access to a total of 153 Linux server compromised by ransomware.

Web hosting provider Nayana said the attack was recorded on June 10 when more than 3,40 business websites ended up encrypted with Erebus, a form of malware that was first spotted last year and which was updated to support Linux.

Hackers originally demanded 550 Bitcoin to decrypt the infected files, but Nayana says after several rounds of negotiations, the ransom was reduced to 397.6 Bitcoin, which was the equivalent of a little over $1 million.

In a statement posted on the official website, Nayana explains that the hackers pointed out the firm would be able to pay more than $1.6 million in ransom after estimating that each of the 40 employees receives an annual salary of...