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The $10 million figure was not a payment to Hive ransomware victims. In a May 16, 2023 release, the U.S. Department of Justice said the State Department had offered up to $10 million for information leading to the apprehension of Mikhail Matveev, whom the release charged with ransomware attacks. That offer was separate from the FBI’s January 2023 disruption of Hive’s infrastructure. The cited release records the offer at that time; it does not establish whether it remains open today.
What happened to the Hive ransomware operation?
On January 26, 2023, the Department of Justice announced an international operation to disrupt Hive, a ransomware operation whose affiliates stole sensitive data, encrypted victims’ systems, and demanded payment both for a decryption key and a promise not to publish the stolen information. DOJ’s announcement said the FBI had secretly accessed Hive’s computer networks since July 2022, obtained decryption keys, and provided them to victims. The FBI coordinated the seizure of Hive servers and websites with law-enforcement partners in Germany and the Netherlands.
DOJ said Hive had targeted more than 1,500 victims in over 80 countries and that the operation prevented victims from having to pay $130 million in demanded ransom. Those are figures from the January 26 announcement, not a measure of money recovered or paid to victims.
What was the $10 million reward for?
In a separate release dated May 16, 2023, DOJ said the State Department had announced an award of up to $10 million for information leading to Mikhail Matveev’s apprehension. The reward was associated with Matveev, not with locating Hive victims or compensating them. The release does not confirm that the offer is still active; its current status should not be assumed from this historical announcement.
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The May release charged Matveev with ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure and discussed alleged use of several ransomware variants, including Hive. DOJ’s account in that release also said Hive had targeted more than 1,400 victims worldwide since June 2021 and that as much as $120 million in ransom payments had been made. These figures come from the May 2023 account and differ in date and framing from the January disruption announcement’s estimates; they should not be treated as a corrected or directly interchangeable tally.
How the two government actions differ
| Action | Date and target | Mechanism | Stated outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hive disruption | Announced January 26, 2023; Hive infrastructure and victim systems | FBI network access, decryption-key sharing, and coordinated server and website seizures | Victim assistance and disruption of Hive; DOJ said $130 million in demanded ransom was averted |
| Matveev reward offer | Reported May 16, 2023; information leading to Mikhail Matveev’s apprehension | State Department offer of up to $10 million, as described by DOJ | Information leading to apprehension; the cited release does not establish present-day availability |
Did the Hive operation recover every victim’s files?
DOJ said the FBI obtained and distributed decryption keys to victims, but its announcement does not say that every victim received a usable key or that every affected file was restored. Nor does decrypting files resolve the separate risk that stolen information may be disclosed. The operation was a significant disruption and victim-assistance effort, not a guarantee of recovery for all Hive incidents or future ransomware cases.
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What should a Hive ransomware victim do?
DOJ’s January 2023 announcement directed Hive victims to contact their local FBI field office and pointed readers to StopRansomware.gov for ransomware information. For an active or newly discovered incident, use those official channels rather than assuming that the historic key-sharing operation covers the case.
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