Hackers threaten CheapAir with a flood of negative reviews
Online travel platform CheapAir revealed it has been hit by an extortion attempt by cybercriminals.
However this time it’s not a data breach or a denial of service attempt to lock its servers in exchange for a ransom payment.
The suspected cybercriminals are going after something potentially more value to the company – its online reputation.
A group calling itself ‘STD Company’ has threatened to flood the internet with negative reviews.
As part of the cyber shakedown the group said it will also inundate CheapAir’s social media pages with damaging reviews unless a demand of 1.5 bitcoins is paid.
It seems to have developed multiple bot accounts on Twitter and Instagram which have begun posting disparaging reviews.
"We are experts in destroying personal or company reputation online. Once we complete our job, even if your site remains on Google, you can be sure that all the first page would be full of negative results about your company," it said in the email demand which was published by Motherboard.
"We’re definitely not going to pay these cyber thugs, but we still have to devote a lot of time and resources to combating it," said CheapAir CEO Jeff Klee.
CheapAir has instructed SSPR, a digital public relations firm to fight the threat and to raise awareness of the issue.
California based CheapAir is one of the few OTAs which have fully embraced digital payments, and accepts Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dash among other cryptocurrencies.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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