In a cybercrime caper straight out of a thriller, hackers have targeted the French giant Schneider Electric, holding the company’s data hostage. Their ransom demand, however, is not for cash; it is for $125,000 worth of baguettes. Yes, you read that right. The attackers claim to have swiped 40GB of sensitive data, breaking into Schneider’s project management platform, JIRA, and potentially exposing project details, internal issues, software plugins, and a trove of user information.
Linked to the notorious Hellcat ransomware gang, the hackers are clear: Schneider must pay up in bread or risk having its secrets leaked. The hackers have added an unusual twist to their demand; if Schneider publicly admits to the breach, they will reduce the ransom to $62,500 worth of baguettes. This strange offer puts Schneider in a tough spot to come clean quickly, save on ‘bread,’ or stay silent and risk paying double.
Picture a small bakery forced to hand over its secret recipe unless it pays a ransom in croissants. That is the idea here; it is happening only on a much larger scale. This strange demand for baguettes instead of cash has grabbed attention, showing how hackers are getting creative with their tactics to push companies into a corner. By demanding something so unconventional, they’re making it nearly impossible for Schneider to ignore. However, the demand for ransom in baguettes is reportedly a joke, and the group is extorting Schneider, seeking payment in cryptocurrency Monero.
Schneider Electric is looking into the situation but claims its products and services are still working fine. Its Global Incident Response team is already checking out the breach. Whether Schneider will yield to this quirky demand or hold firm remains to be seen, but this incident has certainly added a unique twist to the world of cybercrime.
