Acer hit with $50 million ransomware attack — the largest ever: What you need to know

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The Taiwan-based laptop maker is facing a major attack

Acer Swift 3x
(Image credit: Future)

Ransomware attacks have become all too common of late, and it appears Acer recently fell victim to one of the largest known ransoms to date. Hackers are reported to be seeking $50 million and are threatening to release stolen files if they don't receive the payment. 

BleepingComputer first reported that Acer had been hit with the REvil ransomware attack, and hackers have stolen a cache of files in the process. The attacker recently published some of the stolen documents on a website they control as proof they've breached Acer and are now demanding $50 million to return the stolen files. 

The leaked documents include financial spreadsheets, bank balances, and bank communications.

Acer has not admitted to being hacked but did release the following statement to BleepingComputer:

"Acer routinely monitors its IT systems, and most cyberattacks are well defensed. Companies like us are constantly under attack, and we have reported recent abnormal situations observed to the relevant law enforcement and data protection authorities in multiple countries."

It continued, "there is an ongoing investigation and for the sake of security, we are unable to comment on details."

BleepingComputer later obtained conversations between the bad actors and Acer, revealing how the laptop vendor was shocked by the amount and later given a 20% discount if they could provide the funds by a specific date. A warning was later sent to the company referring to the attack that crippled SolarWinds. 

We have reached out to Acer for any additional information and will update this article once we find out more. 

Mark Anthony Ramirez
Mark Anthony Ramirez

Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the now-defunct Dads On Tech 10 years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag team. His penchant for tearing things down and rebuilding them did not make Mark popular at home, however, when he got his hands on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can be found at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.