A hacking group donated a portion of the money it stole from companies to charities. It is an unprecedented case that raises questions.
Specifically, the Darkside group claims to have stolen millions from companies and now intends to "make the world a better place."
The group has posted evidence on the dark web showing it donated $10,000 in Bitcoin to two charities. One of them, Children International, however, said it would not keep the money.
According to what the group reports, it targets large, profitable businesses with ransomware and demands ransom to unlock their systems.
He said: "We believe it is only fair that some of the money that companies have paid will be donated to charity. No matter how bad you think our work is, we are happy to know that we helped change someone's life. Today we sent the first donations."
Children International supports children, families and communities in India, the Philippines, Colombia, Ecuador, Zambia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the United States. A spokesperson for the foundation told the BBC: "If the donation is linked to hackers, we have no intention of holding it."
The other foundation, the Water Project, which works to improve access to clean water in sub-Saharan Africa, did not comment on the incident.
Brett Callow, an analyst at cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, said: “What the criminals hope to achieve by making these donations is not at all clear. Perhaps it helps to alleviate their guilt? Or perhaps for selfish reasons they want to be seen as Robin Hood rather than blackmailers without a conscience.”
"Whatever their motives, it's certainly a very unusual step and is, to my knowledge, the first time a ransomware group has donated a portion of its profits to charity."
The Darkside group is relatively new, but it has been quite active in the digital currency space. There is also evidence that it may be linked to other criminal groups responsible for attacks on companies, including Travelex. The criminals used a US-based service called The Giving Block, which is used by 67 different non-profit organizations from around the world, including Save The Children, Rainforest Foundation and She's The First, to make the donations.
