Hackers delete children's pictures and data after nursery attack backlash

"Hackers who attempted to extort a nursery chain by posting stolen images and data about children on the darknet have removed the posts and claim to have deleted the information. The criminals began posting profiles of the children to their website last Thursday, adding another 10 children days later and vowing to continue until Kido Schools paid a ransom in Bitcoin. The criminals also contacted parents directly with threatening phone calls whilst trying to get their ransom paid."

"But public revulsion at their attack appears to have forced the criminals to backtrack. First they blurred the images but kept the data up - now they have taken all the information offline, and apologised for their actions. Their apparent change of heart has been met with scepticism by experts, who had previously condemned the targeting of nurseries as a "new low" for cyber-criminals. "This is more about pragmatism than morality," said cyber-security expert Jen Ellis."

"The hackers claim to have deleted everything they took - which included the private details and pictures of around 8,000 children as well as contact information for parents and carers. "All child data is now being deleted. No more remains and this can comfort parents," one of the cyber-criminals involved told the BBC. It's understood Kido have not paid the hackers a ransom which was thought to be around 100,000."

Hackers posted stolen images and private data of children from a nursery chain on the darknet and demanded a Bitcoin ransom while making threatening calls to parents. The attackers added more child profiles over several days and vowed to continue until payment. Public revulsion prompted the hackers to blur images, then remove all information and apologise, claiming deletion of the data. Experts reacted sceptically, suggesting the move was pragmatic rather than moral and noting past cases where criminals falsely claimed to delete stolen data. Kido Schools reportedly did not pay the roughly 100,000 ransom.

Read at www.bbc.com