FBI Alert: $250,000 Snail Mail Ransomware Threat To US CEOs Confirmed
March 5, 2025 – Published on Forbes
A new ransomware threat has been confirmed that, of all things, uses letters sent to CEOs using the United States Postal Service to demand payments ranging between $250,000 and $500,000. While ransomware tactics are evolving fast, the basics of data exfiltration and the use of stolen passwords and 2FA codes remain a constant. Which makes you wonder if this new campaign is all that it seems.
The answer, according to the GuidePoint Security researchers who uncovered it, is that this appears to be a case of cybercriminals impersonating other cybercriminals in order to extort money. Here’s what you need to know.
A Mar. 4 report by Grayson North, a senior threat intelligence consultant with the GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team, working with Stephen Brzozowski and Hermes Bojaxhi, has confirmed that multiple U.S. organizations have received physical letters, through USPS, addressed to members of their executive teams that claim to be from the BianLian ransomware group. The letters all state that corporate networks have been compromised and data stolen, giving the CEO a 10 day warning for a ransom to be paid or the sensitive data leaked. “The letter instructs the recipient to pay the ransom to an included Bitcoin wallet,” North said, “which is made easier by including a QR code containing the wallet address.”
The GRIT researchers have seen letters demanding ransoms in the range of $250,000 to $500,000 in this currently ongoing threat campaign. “The authors of the letters take great care in presenting themselves as the BianLian ransom group,” North said, “ including providing Tor links to BianLian’s data leak site.”
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