MediaMarkt, Europe's biggest consumer electronics retailer, has suffered a ransomware attack which forced the company to shut down its IT systems to prevent the spread of the infection, and crippled operations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Spain.
Media Markt is a German multinational chain of stores selling consumer electronics with over 1000 stores in Europe.
The ransomware attack took place over a weekend and affected numerous retail stores across Europe. According to local news outlets, the employees at the stores were not able to accept credit card payments or print receipts. The attack did not impact online sales.
In an internal letter sent to employees and seen by RTLNieuws MediaMarkt told the staff that computers in the shops can no longer be used and to avoid encrypted systems and disconnect cash registers from the network.
According to screenshots of alleged internal communication posted on Twitter, the ransomware infected 3,100 MediaMarkt’s servers.
Bleeping Computer reported that the attack was carried out by the Hive ransomware gang, with the attackers initially demanding a staggering ransom demand of $240 million to receive decryptor for encrypted files. However, Bleeping Computer said that the ransom demand was “almost automatically reduced to a much lower amount.”