- The Belgium city Antwerp was hit with a ransomware attack disrupting almost all online services in the city.
- Play ransomware operation claimed responsibility for the attack and listed Antwerp on the victim list.
- The group states that 557 GB of data was stolen, including personal information, passports, IDs, and financial documents.
Last week, the Belgium city of Antwerp suffered a cyberattack, causing the city’s IT, email, and phone services to shut down. City officials stated that Windows applications were no longer available in the city and the email system was not working. Some experts claimed that it was a ransomware attack.
Play ransomware
Local news sources claimed that it was a ransomware attack but until recently, the hacker behind the attack was unknown. Brett Callow from Emsisoft noticed that the Play ransomware operation is listing Antwerp on its victim list. According to the post, the group managed to steal 557 GB of data, which includes personal information, passports, IDs, and financial documents.
Play ransomware operation emerged in the summer of 2022. The group claimed that the data will be leaked online within a week if the city decides not to pay the ransom. The group didn’t publicly disclose the amount they demand.