See: Crime gangs extort money with hacking threat in the Financial Times.
Evidence of a new type of international extortion racket emerged on Tuesday with revelations that blackmailers have been exploiting computer hacking techniques to threaten the ability of companies to conduct business online.
More than a dozen offshore gambling sites serving the US market were hit by the so-called Distributed Denial of Service attacks and extortion demands in September and the tactic is now spreading. Sites have been asked to pay up to $50,000 to ensure they are free from attacks for a year. Police are urging any victims not to give in to blackmail and report the crime.
It used to be “Pay me protection or your store will be smashed up.”, not its “Pay me protection or your web site will be shut down.” Organized crime entered the 21st Century.