This threat describes a scam campaign involving bomb threat emails demanding a ransom payment of $20,000 in Bitcoin. The campaign is characterized by social engineering tactics where attackers send emails to targets, falsely claiming that a bomb has been planted and threatening detonation unless the ransom is paid. The campaign relies on fear and urgency to coerce victims into complying. There are no technical exploits or malware involved; rather, it is a psychological manipulation attack leveraging email as the delivery vector. The campaign was identified and reported by CIRCL in December 2018, and is classified as a scam with a low severity rating. No specific software versions or vulnerabilities are targeted, and there are no known exploits in the wild. The threat level is low because it does not compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability of systems directly, but it can cause disruption, fear, and potential financial loss if victims pay the ransom. The campaign is a form of scareware or extortion scam, relying solely on social engineering without technical exploitation.

For European organizations, the primary impact is operational disruption and reputational damage. Receiving bomb threat emails can trigger emergency protocols, cause panic among employees, and potentially lead to evacuations or law enforcement involvement. This can result in downtime, loss of productivity, and financial costs related to emergency response and investigation. Although no direct compromise of IT systems occurs, the psychological impact and potential for financial loss through ransom payments are significant. Organizations in critical infrastructure sectors or public venues may face heightened risks due to the potential for real-world disruption. Additionally, repeated campaigns can erode trust in communication channels and increase the burden on security and incident response teams. The low technical severity does not diminish the operational and reputational risks associated with such threats.

Mitigation should focus on preparedness, detection, and response rather than technical patching. Specific recommendations include: 1) Implement and regularly update incident response plans that include protocols for handling bomb threats and extortion emails. 2) Train employees and security teams to recognize scam emails and avoid responding or paying ransoms. 3) Establish clear communication channels with local law enforcement and emergency services to verify threats quickly. 4) Use email filtering and threat intelligence to detect and block known scam email patterns and sender addresses. 5) Conduct regular drills and awareness campaigns to reduce panic and improve coordinated responses. 6) Maintain forensic capabilities to analyze threat emails for attribution and to support investigations. 7) Avoid publicizing ransom payments to reduce attacker incentives. These measures help minimize operational disruption and financial impact while ensuring a measured and effective response to such social engineering campaigns.