Hackers threaten to publish stolen data from the Belgian city of Geraardsbergen. The city was already hit by the Lockbit ransomware in September last year, but then did not pay.
The city council has fourteen days to pay. After that, the documents are posted online, as can be seen at the dark web website of the LockBit ransomware gang. It says that on February 15 around midnight, documents will be made public from Geraardsbergen in Belgium, a city with about 34,000 inhabitants. The criminals uploaded the data on Tuesday.
It is unknown where exactly the stolen data came from and even what kind of data it is. This is striking, because ransomware gangs often release samples of data to verify that it has actually been stolen. They also often provide information about a recent hack and tell them what type of data it concerns. That information may not be given because the city council is actively talking to the hackers, but that is not known.
Geraardsbergen was already hit by a ransomware attack in September, writes The Latest News. At the time, the city council said there was no danger to citizens because backups of the data would have been made. However, it is not clear whether the hack at the time is related to the files that have now been posted online. In that case, for example, it is not clear why the criminals waited so long to put the data online. This may have to do with, for example, a negotiation process that has stalled, but that is also unknown.
