The culprit for Sinclair attack emerges

A well-known Russian hacking group previously sanctioned by the United States is behind the crippling ransomware attack on Sinclair Broadcast Group that is continuing to impact news stations across the country, according to a new report.

Bloomberg News cited multiple people “familiar with the attack” in reporting that a group known as Evil Corp. was behind the ransomware attack, which occurred late last week and was disclosed by Sinclair both to the Securities and Exchange Commission and to the public on Monday.

According to Bloomberg, the hackers used a malware virus known as Macaw to attack Sinclair. The company confirmed that data had been stolen in the attack, but that it was still working to determine exactly what data was stolen.

The Hill reached out to Sinclair for comment.

Evil Corp. was the target of a multiagency effort in 2019 after it was accused of using its Dridex malware to steal more than $100 million from hundreds of banks and financial entities in more than 40 countries.