Media Prima Hit by Ransomware Attack, Refuses $6.45 Million Bitcoin Demand
On November 15, 2018, Malaysian media conglomerate Media Prima Bhd fell victim to a ransomware attack, crippling its in-house email systems and disrupting operations. According to sources, the attackers demanded 1,000 bitcoins equivalent to approximately $6.45 million at the time to restore access.
The breach, which began four days prior, encrypted critical systems across the Media Prima group, including its television, print, radio, and digital media divisions. The company, which owns major outlets like TV3, New Straits Times, and Hot FM, did not confirm or deny the attack but acknowledged declining to comment on the matter.
While ransomware typically locks victims out of their data until payment is made, sources revealed that Media Prima refused to pay the ransom, opting instead to migrate its email system to Google’s G Suite as a workaround. It remains unclear whether the attack resulted in data breaches or financial losses, and no police report had been filed at the time of reporting.
The incident reflects a growing trend of ransomware attacks leveraging cryptocurrency for anonymous payments, targeting organizations across industries. Media Prima, which reported a net loss of RM650.6 million in 2017, has not disclosed the full impact of the disruption on its operations.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/media-prima-hit-ransomware-attack-%E2%80%94-sources
TV3 Network Limited cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/tv3-network-limited
"id": "TV31781520522",
"linkid": "tv3-network-limited",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "11/2018",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'media',
'location': 'Malaysia',
'name': 'Media Prima Bhd',
'type': 'media conglomerate'}],
'data_breach': {'data_encryption': 'true'},
'date_detected': '2018-11-11',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2018-11-15',
'description': 'On November 15, 2018, Malaysian media conglomerate Media '
'Prima Bhd fell victim to a ransomware attack, crippling its '
'in-house email systems and disrupting operations. The '
'attackers demanded 1,000 bitcoins (approximately $6.45 '
'million) to restore access. The company refused to pay the '
'ransom and migrated its email system to Google’s G Suite as a '
'workaround.',
'impact': {'operational_impact': 'disrupted operations across television, '
'print, radio, and digital media divisions',
'systems_affected': 'in-house email systems, critical systems '
'across Media Prima group'},
'motivation': 'financial gain',
'ransomware': {'data_encryption': 'true',
'ransom_demanded': '1000 bitcoins (~$6.45 million)',
'ransom_paid': 'false'},
'references': [{'source': 'News Article'}],
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'declined to comment',
'law_enforcement_notified': 'false',
'remediation_measures': 'migrated email system to Google’s G '
'Suite'},
'title': 'Media Prima Hit by Ransomware Attack, Refuses $6.45 Million Bitcoin '
'Demand',
'type': 'ransomware'}