Hackers behind the cyber-attack on OP-Pohjola and Danske Bank were demanding around 110 Bitcoins in ransom, according to the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Sometime around the New Year, the customers of both the said banks started complaining about the difficulties in login in to their respective accounts, especially of OP who were trying to access their accounts from outside Finland. The online service halt, led by this supposed DDoS attack, remained in effect for more than a week. Meanwhile, the law authorities continued to locate the source which initiated it.
A couple of days back, NBI official Timo Pilroinen revealed that the hackers were blackmailing both OP and Danske banks and in the process, were demanding Bitcoins in ransom. While OP was ordered to pay 100 BTC, Danske was blackmailed for only 10 BTC. At the time of the threat, the amount of these Bitcoins were equivalent to 22,000 and 2,200 respectively.
Not one bank agreed to pay the ransom, Pilroinen said. ”I am hopeful that we will get to the bottom of this. Even so, nobody has yet been questioned or arrested in connection to these attacks.”
He wished not to speak further when being asked about the rumors saying the hack was done by some Finnish teenagers. He however confirmed the minds behind these plan to be some sort of international cyber criminals.