BBC reporter targeted in multi-million pound cyber attack plot

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BBC Cyber correspondent Joe Tidy has revealed he was offered a huge sum of money by criminal gang, Medusa, to sell his log-in details and help them extort his employer.

The proposition came in July from an individual, calling themselves “Syndicate,” on the encrypted chat app Signal.

Medusa, an infamous ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation believed to be run from Russia or an allied state, operates by giving criminal affiliates access to its platform to hack organisations, steal data, or install malicious software, and hold the victim to ransom. The gang uses a “reach out manager,” in this case, “Syn,” to proposition potential insiders.

The initial offer to Tidy was 15% of any ransom, which was quickly increased to a massive 25% of the final negotiation, which Syn estimated could be in the tens of millions, suggesting the reporter “wouldn’t need to work ever again.” The logic was that they would demand 1% of the BBC’s total revenue.

Tidy, after consulting with a senior BBC editor, decided to play along to observe the tactics of an “insider threat” attack. The criminals used several tactics to exert pressure, including repeated insistence on the massive payout—”We can retire you”—and an attempt to establish trust by offering a deposit of 0.5 Bitcoin (around $55,000) for his login details.

When Tidy stalled for time, the hackers dramatically increased the pressure with an MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) bombing attack—repeatedly triggering two-factor authentication notifications on his phone to get him to accidentally press ‘accept’ and grant them access.

Tidy immediately called the BBC’s information security team and was disconnected from the corporation’s IT systems as a precaution.

The Medusa operator apologised for the “test” but insisted the deal was still on. After a few days of no response, the criminal deleted their account and disappeared. Tidy has since been reinstated with added security protections, providing a chilling, first-hand account of the evolving risks organisations face. You can read the full story here:

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