DOGE-Trolling Ransomware Hackers Demand $1 Trillion

A recently updated ransom note from the group behind the DOGE Big Balls ransomware attack has sparked concern among cybersecurity experts. The attackers, who use a variant of existing malware known as FOG, have demanded an astonishing $1 trillion in payment from their victims.

According to an April 21 security report by researchers Nathaniel Morales and Sarah Pearl Camiling at Trend Micro, the ransomware now appears to be trolling DOGE and Elon Musk mercilessly. In reference to the now-infamous Musk demand for federal workers to email DOGE what they had achieved, leaving them fearing for their jobs if they did not comply, the updated ransom note has been altered to read: “Give me five bullet points on what you accomplished for work last week or you owe me a TRILLION dollars.”

The FBI has confirmed that ransomware is “the most pervasive threat to critical infrastructure” and played an increasingly important role in the $16.6 billion cost of cybercrime to individuals and organizations in the U.S. across 2024. The FOG ransomware threat, a variant of which has been used in the DOGE Big Balls attacks, was the most reported of new ransomware attacks during 2024.

According to Dr. Ilia Kolochenko, CEO at ImmuniWeb, a “growing number” of U.S. organizations prefer to silently settle with ransomware groups that carry a strong reputation for keeping attacks and data confidential following payment. However, he warned that this option should not be taken lightly, advising victims to brainstorm with cybercrime experts and lawyers having experience in such matters before making a decision.

Despite the seemingly lighthearted tone of the updated ransom note, which includes references to DOGE and Elon Musk, as well as a “Don’t snitch now” warning, it's essential to remember that the threat itself is all business. The attackers claim to have encrypted the victim's data and copied some of it to their internal resource.

It's imperative that you do not think that just because the attackers might act like clowns, the threat itself isn’t serious. Indeed, the ransomware demand itself is all business. The DOGE references are not the only trolling in the updated ransom note, there’s also a warning from the attackers that they have “grabbed your trilatitude and trilongitude (the most accurate) coordinates of where you live,” in order to prove that they are lying.

Report any such attacks to the FBI here. Remember, it's always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to cybersecurity threats.