EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Recipe Unlimited, which owns several restaurant chains, was hit with a ransomware attack. Or was it? While hackers demanded ransom, the restaurant chain denies it is being held ransom.

As Ms. Smith reports in CSO, “Recipe Unlimited, which operates 19 franchise restaurant brands, must think that claiming to be a victim of a “malware outbreak” sounds better than saying it was a victim of a ransomware attack. Nevertheless, nine of its restaurant brands were impacted by the attack, and some have even closed as the bitcoin ransom demand total grows higher each day.”

A spokesperson for the company, Maureen Hart, said Recipe Unlimited regularly backs up its system and maintains appropriate data security measures, according to CBC. The company dismissed the ransom letter, referring to it as a ‘generic’ statement found on the internet, which is associated with the Ryuk virus.

Check Point researchers have described Ryuk as a targeted global ransomware campaign that has already netted more than $640,000.

CBC writes, “The ransom note, obtained by CBC News, informs Recipe Unlimited that ‘there is a significant hole in the security of your company’ and that ‘we’ve easily penetrated your network.'”

The cyberattackers warned that for each day they were not paid, the ransomware would increase by +0.5 Bitcoin. Ms. Smith reports, “As of the time of writing, .5 bitcoin was equal to $3,224.58. If the countdown started on Friday and today is Wednesday, that total ransom demand for six days has jumped up to $19,347.”

Recipe Unlimited has said that there is no indication at this time that there has been a data breach.

Get the full story at CSO.