DOGE Hackers Troll Elon Musk In Cyberattack

A ransomware gang is demanding $1 trillion while mocking Elon Musk in a cyberattack using FOG malware, raising serious infrastructure concerns.

The hackers, behind the recent “DOGE Big Balls” ransomware attacks, have embedded jokes targeting Elon Musk and the cryptocurrency Dogecoin into their threats, as first reported by Forbes.

The ransomware strain used in these attacks is a variant of FOG, a known malware family that encrypts victims’ data and copies it for potential blackmail. According to cybersecurity researchers Nathaniel Morales and Sarah Pearl Camiling from Trend Micro, the ransomware has begun mocking both Dogecoin and Elon Musk.

Forbes reports that the updated ransom note echoes Musk’s controversial demand for federal employees to email DOGE weekly work summaries under threat of termination, and now reads:

“Give me five bullet points on what you accomplished for work last week or you owe me a TRILLION dollars.”

Elon Musk’s DOGE program faces rising criticism which extends past the ransomware attack. A whistleblower filed a complaint with Congress and multiple federal agencies which accused DOGE of stealing and exporting confidential NLRB data without authorization. Additionally, the Social Security Administration’s website suffered a major crash shortly after DOGE began its digital infrastructure work.

Forbes notes that the FBI reported through its April 23 internet crime report that ransomware represents the most significant threat to critical infrastructure.

The report shows FOG ransomware as the leading new attack type which was reported during 2024. The United States experienced $16.6 billion in cybercrime losses during the previous year with ransomware attacks being a primary factor.

Forbes reports that the attackers’ note contains memes and fake threats about trilatitude and trilongitude. It reads:

“We are the ones who encrypted your data and also copied some of it to our internal resource,” and provided instructions for victims to contact them via the dark web.

Forbes reports that Dr. Ilia Kolochenko, CEO of cybersecurity firm ImmuniWeb, said: “The most alarming thing about the FBI’s IC3 report is that its numbers are just the tip of the formidable iceberg of organized cybercrime.” He added that many U.S. organizations still choose to quietly pay ransoms, hoping attackers will keep stolen data