SECURITY
SECURITY
SECURITY
DopplePaymer ransomware targets ‘Big Brother’ producer Endemol Shine
Endemol Shine, the global production company behind television shows such as “Big Brother,” “MasterChef” and “The Voice,” has been struck by a DopplePaymer ransomware attack and sensitive information was stolen.
The attack was confirmed Nov. 26 by Banijay SAS, the parent company of Endemol Shine, which described the attack as a cybersecurity incident involving both Endemol Shine Group and Endemol Shine International networks. The company said it has reason to believe that “certain personal data of current and ex-employees may have been compromised, as well as commercially sensitive information.”
Banijay said that it has hired independent specialists to investigate the situation and reported the issue to relevant local authorities in both the Netherland and the U.K., the two territories affected by the incident.
Although the company did not disclose the form of the attack, Bleeping Computer reported Nov. 27 that credit has been claimed by the DopplePaymer ransomware gang. As proof, those behind DopplePaymer are said to have shared several documents allegedly stolen from Endemol Shine. They’re also taunting the company by referencing the European Union General Data Protection Regulation compliance; one of the internal documents leaked related directly to GDPR compliance.
DopplePaymer, a variant of an earlier form of ransomware called BitPaymer, was discovered in July 2019 and is linked to a hacking group called INDRIK SPIDER. BitPaymer has been previously linked to attacks on Arizona Beverages USA LLC in April 2019 and the Professional Golfers Association of America in August 2018.
The best-known case involving DopplePaymer this year came in June with an attack on Digital Management LLC, a contractor for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. An attack on Mexican state-owned petroleum company Petróleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, in November 2019, though initially reported at the time to be a Ryuk ransomware attack, was later credited to DopplePaymer. In the Pemex attack, a ransom of 565 bitcoin, worth $4.93 million at the time, was demanded.
