NASCAR faces crisis as ransomware threat looms over $4,000,000 ultimatum: Reports

NASCAR may be facing a serious cybersecurity problem. Several reports have come out recently, suggesting that the racing organization has been targeted by a hacking group called Medusa, and the hackers are demanding $4 million to avoid leaking sensitive information.

According to Hackread.com, Medusa claims to have broken into NASCAR’s systems and stolen important internal data. They are now threatening to release more than one terabyte of that data if the governing body of stock car racing does not pay the desired ransom within 10 days.

Adam Stern from Sports Business Journal shared Hackread's report on X with the following caption:

"Medusa Ransomware Claims @NASCAR Breach in Latest Attack - @Hackread"

As per the reports, the hackers have already shared some sample documents to prove they have access. These documents supposedly include maps of race tracks, email addresses, names and job titles of the governing body's staff, and information related to security credentials. Hackread says this shows that the hackers may have gained access to important details about how NASCAR operates behind the scenes.

The Daily Dot also reported on the situation and mentioned a countdown timer posted by the hackers, showing how much time NASCAR has left to respond to the ransom demand. At this time, officials have not made any public statements about the alleged hack. It’s still unclear how much of the report is true, as some details have not been confirmed by other sources.

However, this isn't the first time the sport has dealt with technical issues this season. There have been other incidents where technology was interfered with, however, the details about the same have been limited.

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NASCAR’s official radio got hacked by a random fan at Atlanta

On top of the supposed cybersecurity threat, NASCAR also had to deal with a strange and unexpected incident during the recent Cup Series race in Atlanta. This time, it was a fan hijacking the race radio.

During the Ambetter Health 400, fans started noticing inappropriate messages coming through the official radio channel used by teams and fans. As more and more listeners started posting on social media, it became obvious that someone had broken into the radio feed.

One line from the reportedly hacked radio channel quickly went viral on social media. According to a post made by Brett Winningham of Speedway Digest on X, the message seemed to be directed at Elton Sawyer, the senior vice president of competition.

“Do not f**k with Larson. Don’t you f***k with Larson, Elton. HOLY SH*T … Someone has hacked the officials radio,” read the message.

Radio interference is not a new thing in the sport, though. Over the years, there have been a few instances when individuals have managed to hack into team frequencies or even the main broadcast channel used by the governing body. NASCAR must take steps to curb these instances, as they negatively impact not only the racers but also the fans.