US Department of Energy Receives Dual Ransom Demands Amidst Expanding MOVEit Hack Fallout

The spokesperson for the US Department of Energy (DOE) revealed that the Russia-linked extortion group Cl0p sent ransom requests to both the nuclear waste facility and scientific education facility of the DOE, which were recently targeted in a global hacking campaign. This attack, initially reported on Thursday, affected the DOE contractor Oak Ridge Associated Universities and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, which is responsible for disposing of defense-related radioactive nuclear waste.

The breach occurred through a security flaw in the file transfer tool MOVEit Transfer, a widely-used software for sharing sensitive data among organizations worldwide. Progress Software, the company behind MOVEit Transfer, discovered the security flaw last month, resulting in various victims, including US government departments, the UK’s telecom regulator, and energy company Shell.

This incident highlights the significant impact of ransomware attacks, even on security-conscious federal agencies. Ransomware gangs often target widely-used tools, and the attack on MOVEit Transfer reveals the challenges faced by federal agencies in defending against such threats. 

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed that several federal agencies were affected but noted minimal impact on the federal civilian executive branch. Analysts predict that more victims may emerge

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