Vale targeted in $4.8-million Brazil extortion attempt

While cyberattack extortion is in vogue the world over, in Brazil’s Amazon region old-school shakedowns are no thing of the past. A couple was arrested after allegedly unscrewing the bases of energy towers belonging to Vale SA near the city of Parauapebas and demanding as much as 15 million reais ($4.8 million) from the mining company in exchange for abandoning plans to continue such attacks, federal police said Monday.