ProtonMail: encrypted email provider held ransom by hackers

Email provider headquartered at Cern in Switzerland has internet connection cut off by hackers who did not cease attack even after $6,000 ransom was paid

ProtonMail, a Switzerland-based encrypted email provider, was forced offline on Thursday after hackers held the company's internet connection for ransom by using a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

"ProtonMail is likely under attack by two separate groups, with the second attackers exhibiting capabilities more commonly possessed by state sponsored actors," the company said. "It also shows that the second attackers were not afraid of causing massive collateral damage in order to get at us."