A hacking group going by the name of Darkside has attempted to donate around $20,000 in stolen Bitcoin to charity.
One of these charities, Children Internation, said it will be refusing the $10,000 donation because it has allegedly come from a ransomware attack, according to the BBC.
The charity, which supports children, families and communities across Asia, Africa, South America and the US, told the BBC: "If the donation is linked to a hacker, we have no intention of keeping it".
The Darkside hacking group clams to have extorted millions of dollars from ransomware attacks. The organisation has said it intends to distribute their ill-gotten gains to those in need as they want to "make the world a better place". This group has posted receipts of two $10,000 Bitcoin donations it has claimed to have made to Children International and The Water project.
The so-called Robbin Hood-style operation seems to be part of a growing trend of ransomware gangs trying to "whitewash their image", according to Kelvin Murray, a senior threat researcher at Carbonite and Webroot.
"We have seen this with the Maze gang, amongst others, where throughout the COVID-19 pandemic they have continuously reminded us that they have not been targeting hospitals out of moral concern," Murray told IT Pro.
"This also coincides with their relatively new tactic of stealing data from their victims and threatening to publicly post it on websites. These large gangs also do a lot of public posting on the dark web as they court customers and form business alliances.
"I would imagine that PR is more of a concern for them now because they are relying more on publicity and good faith from their stakeholders and victims in order to make their extortion tactics successful."
Darkside is a relatively new organisation, but there is evidence in the cryptocurrency market to suggest it is a big player in ransomware. The group is also thought to be linked to gangs responsible for some of this year's biggest attacks, such as the Travelex fiasco.
-
Should AI PCs be part of your next hardware refresh?AI PCs are fast becoming a business staple and a surefire way to future-proof your business
-
Westcon-Comstor and Vectra AI launch brace of new channel initiativesNews Westcon-Comstor and Vectra AI have announced the launch of two new channel growth initiatives focused on the managed security service provider (MSSP) space and AWS Marketplace.
-
‘Phishing kits are a force multiplier': Cheap cyber crime kits can be bought on the dark web for less than $25 – and experts warn it’s lowering the barrier of entry for amateur hackersNews Research from NordVPN shows phishing kits are now widely available on the dark web and via messaging apps like Telegram, and are often selling for less than $25.
-
Healthcare systems are rife with exploits — and ransomware gangs have noticedNews Nearly nine-in-ten healthcare organizations have medical devices that are vulnerable to exploits, and ransomware groups are taking notice.
-
Alleged LockBit developer extradited to the USNews A Russian-Israeli man has been extradited to the US amid accusations of being a key LockBit ransomware developer.
-
February was the worst month on record for ransomware attacks – and one threat group had a field dayNews February 2025 was the worst month on record for the number of ransomware attacks, according to new research from Bitdefender.
-
CISA issues warning over Medusa ransomware after 300 victims from critical sectors impactedNews The Medusa ransomware as a Service operation compromised twice as many organizations at the start of 2025 compared to 2024
-
Warning issued over prolific 'Ghost' ransomware groupNews The Ghost ransomware group is known to act fast and exploit vulnerabilities in public-facing appliances
-
The Zservers takedown is another big win for law enforcementNews LockBit has been dealt another blow by law enforcement after Dutch police took 127 of its servers offline
-
There’s a new ransomware player on the scene: the ‘BlackLock’ group has become one of the most prolific operators in the cyber crime industry – and researchers warn it’s only going to get worse for potential victimsNews Security experts have warned the BlackLock group could become the most active ransomware operator in 2025
