Hackers Threaten to Leak Stolen Reddit Data if Company Doesn’t Pay $4.5 Million and Change Controversial Pricing Policy

Reddit is facing a potential data leak as hackers from the BlackCat ransomware gang threaten to release 80 gigabytes of confidential data stolen during a February breach, with demands for payment and withdrawal of a controversial pricing policy.

The hackers claim to have demanded a $4.5 million payout in April for deleting the data and maintaining silence, and after receiving no response, they followed up with an additional demand to withdraw the new pricing policy that has sparked protests from influential users.

Reddit confirmed that the hackers’ post relates to the February incident, reiterating that no user data was accessed but declining further comment.

Over 6,000 Reddit forums went offline as part of a protest against the company’s plan to charge steep fees for certain third-party app access, with over 3,500 forums remaining dark a week later.

Experts are skeptical of BlackCat’s motives, suggesting that their goal may be to increase harm and pressure victims into paying rather than genuinely supporting the protestors’ cause.
BlackCat stated that it does not expect Reddit to meet its demands and plans to leak the data.