[ISN] 40,000 euros offered for identities of online blackmailers

[InfoSec News]

http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/63238

Craig Morris
25.08.2005

The online gambling site jaxx.de operated by Fluxx AG of Hamburg has
been blackmailed since Sunday with a distributed denial-of-service
(DDoS) attack for payment of 40,000 euros to the perpetrators, who are
probably in eastern Europe. The company did not give in to the demand,
but instead immediately contacted the Federal Criminal Police Office
(BKA) and the German Bureau for Security in Information Technology
(BSI) to put an end to the criminal actions.

In a press release [1] on the issue, the company quoted the
blackmailers' letter:

"... we demand payment of 40,000 euros. This money has to be wired via
Western Union. This transaction is a minute transferal. In other
words, if you transfer today and we are not prevented from withdrawing
the money, we will stop the attack tonight. You will, no doubt, call
the police, which you have the right to do. But I would like to inform
you that your no. 1 competitor has already paid. ..."

Fluxx AG has apologized to its customers for any limited access to the 
site and offered a bonus. It also points out that the defensive 
measures taken by the company's administrators in cooperation with 
Internet providers have not succeeded in stopping the DDoS attacks. 
The company did, however, state that the security of the data on the 
online systems was at no time in danger. It is offering 40,000 euros 
to anyone who can lead the police to the blackmailers.

Last year, various gambling websites were blackmailed just before the 
World Football Cup, though the amount demanded was less: 15,000 US 
dollars. 

[1] http://fluxx.de/fluxx_content.php?page=presse/details/20050824_523.html