Acer falls victim to a $50 million ransomware attack

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Taiwanese OEM giant Acer, best known for its laptops, has been hit hard by a ransomware attack that now holds its files hostage for a sum of $50 million.

According to a report published on Bleeping Computer, hackers managed to access the company's financials and bank account details through a vulnerability in the Microsoft Exchange framework that Acer uses for its servers.

The group behind the attack are suspected to be REvil, who carried out a similar attack on Travelex last year. The group has allegedly shared images of the stolen files on their site as proof.

The report also mentions that the representatives of Acer speaking with the hacking group have expressed shock at the massive $50 million demand. Its the largest amount for a ransom to date.

Acer put out a statement saying that it has contacted the authorities and till the investigation completes, it will not comment on this matter further.

Microsoft's Exchange servers have been exploited by hackers recently for as many five different attacks in China by different hacking groups.

Microsoft has released an emergency patch for its servers to curb the exploits but the damage may already have been done. A recent Check Point research study revealed that nearly 32 Indian companies have already fallen victim to ransomware attacks due to the vulnerability. It added that banks and finance institutions were hit the hardest.