Insider threats are among the most dangerous risks in cyber-crime. Few employees face them. Even fewer speak openly about their experiences.
I recently became one of those rare cases. A criminal group approached me with a shocking offer: betray my employer for millions.
The first contact
The message arrived without warning. “If you are interested, we can offer you 15% of any ransom payment if you give us access to your PC.”
The sender called themselves Syndicate. They contacted me in July via Signal, an encrypted messaging app. I did not know them, but I immediately understood their goal.
They wanted me to help them breach my employer’s systems. Their plan: steal data or install malware, then demand a ransom. I would secretly receive a share.
A growing global problem
Insider betrayal is rising worldwide. Days earlier, Brazilian police arrested an IT worker accused of selling login credentials. Authorities said the case caused a $100m banking loss.
I sought advice from a senior editor and decided to play along. I wanted to see how criminals pitch these schemes.
Syndicate, who later changed their name to Syn, began explaining the plan in detail.
The tempting offer
Syn said I should provide login credentials and security codes. Their team would hack my employer and demand bitcoin ransom. I would earn a portion.
The offer escalated quickly. “What if you took 25% of the final negotiation? We extract 1% of total revenue. You would never need to work again.”
Syn claimed the ransom could reach tens of millions. Authorities strongly advise against paying, but Syn promised both secrecy and wealth.
Insider deals
Syn claimed the gang had succeeded before. He cited two recent victims: a UK healthcare firm and a US emergency services provider.
“You’d be surprised how many employees give us access,” he said.
He identified himself as “reach out manager” for Medusa, a ransomware-as-a-service operation. He claimed to be western and the only English speaker in the gang.
Medusa works like a criminal platform. Affiliates sign up and use its tools to hack organisations. Researchers say its leaders operate from Russia or allied states.
The group avoids Russian targets and advertises itself on Russian-language dark web forums.
Mounting pressure
Syn sent a US warning about Medusa, listing 300 victims. He shared darknet links and recruitment pages, urging me to deposit 0.5 bitcoin, around $55,000.
He described the deposit as guaranteed money once I provided credentials. “We aren’t bluffing. We are only here for money.”
He assumed I had privileged access. He asked technical questions and sent code to run on my laptop. I refused.
Escalation
After three days, I stalled, planning to alert the security team. Syn grew impatient.
“When can you do this? I’m not a patient person,” he warned. “I guess you don’t want to live on the beach in the Bahamas?”
He set a strict deadline. Then the harassment began.
My phone flooded with nonstop login prompts. Every minute, the security app asked me to approve access.
I recognised the tactic: MFA bombing. Hackers overwhelm victims until they approve a request. Uber suffered this attack in 2022.
It was alarming. The private chat had escalated into direct pressure on my phone. It felt like intruders pounding at my door.
Cutting access
I knew one wrong tap would grant them full access. The system would treat it as a normal login. From there, they could explore sensitive networks.
I contacted the security team. We disconnected me completely: no email, no intranet, no accounts.
That night, Syn sent a calm message. “The team apologises. We were testing your login page and are sorry if this caused issues.”
I told them I was locked out. Syn repeated the offer. I ignored him. Days later, he deleted his Signal account.
A sobering lesson
Eventually, my access was restored with stronger protections. The experience gave me firsthand insight into insider threat tactics.
Hackers constantly adapt and target insiders. Until this happened, I had not fully appreciated the danger.
It was a stark reminder of the risks every organisation faces today.
