Manchester United Rejects Payment to Cyber Hackers
Manchester United have failed to reveal if they have received ransom demands over the cyber attack on the club that happened last week. The attack forced Manchester United to shut down their systems. United said on Friday they had been hit by a “sophisticated” attack, and the issue is still causing disruption.
According to reports, hackers have demanded “millions of pounds”. United said they had not identified a motive for the attack, and rejected suggestions the attackers still had control of the systems. They played their Champions League regardless of the incident on Tuesday, the game ended 4-1 in favour of the United.
While the issue is still causing the club major disruption, including emails not working throughout this week, it is understood investigative and recovery work aimed at ensuring their internal systems are safe is at an advanced stage. The National Cyber Security Centre, which provides guidance to companies who have been the victims of attacks, has been involved and offered advice to the club.
United said in a statement: “Following the recent cyber attack on the club, our IT team and external experts secured our networks and have conducted forensic investigations.” They also said: “This attack was by nature disruptive, but we are not currently aware of any fan data being compromised.”
“Critical systems required for matches to take place at Old Trafford remained secure and games have gone ahead as normal.” “The club will not be commenting on speculation regarding who may have been responsible for this attack or the motives behind it.”