Cyber Attack Rumors Swirl as NASCAR Faces $4 Million Ransom Demand

A report from Hackread.com states that NASCAR has been targeted by the Medusa ransomware gang, which demands a staggering $4 million ransom. NASCAR was reportedly listed on the gang’s dark web leak site. Medusa threatened that a failure to meet payment demands would result in the leakage of NASCAR’s internal data.

While NASCAR has not commented on the incident, the authenticity of the report remains to be verified. However, it confidently claims that hackers have “already posted 37 document images related to NASCAR as proof.”

The report further states that some content seems to be confidential information, such as “detailed maps of raceway grounds, email addresses, names and titles of staff, and credential-related info, which suggests a real compromise of operational and logistical data.”

Another report from Hackread stated that the FBI and the CIA warned about Medusa ransomware attacks in March and urged organizations to enhance their web security, such as adopting a two-factor authentication system.

Daily Dot reported yesterday that NASCAR had 10 days to pay the ransom amount, while On3 confirmed that the sport has faced two hacking incidents this season. During the race weekend in Atlanta, someone hacked into the race’s official radio.

The second threat was when NASCAR’s Twitter account was allegedly hacked alongside the NBA’s. However, the problem was quickly resolved, and normalcy was restored soon after.

While it remains to be seen if the rumors are true, they arrive after the throwback weekend at Darlington, which saw NASCAR celebrate its successful history. The Goodyear 400 Cup Series race was a thrilling spectacle, as fans witnessed a significant twist at the end that led Denny Hamlin to secure his 56th win.

A contact between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson brought out the caution flags, compromising Ryan Blaney’s lead in the race. An excellent pit stop by Hamlin’s crew meant he was on the front row in the overtime restart, while Blaney’s crew faltered.

Hamlin then went on to secure his second consecutive Cup Series win, while Blaney secured fifth place. Crediting Larson’s spin and his own crew for the victory, Hamlin said after the race:

“There’s two people I really love right now, my pit crew and Kyle Larson. Had a little assist there, so thank you. Man, the pit crew just did an amazing job. They won it last week, they won it this week. It’s all about them. Thanks SportClips, they have such a big deal here in Darlington, South Carolina.”

Hamlin looks in good form for the race at Bristol this weekend, and the chance of him securing his third consecutive victory remains high.