A cybercrime group, Lockbit on Friday released internal data from Boeing, one of the biggest defence and space contractors in the world.
In October, the hackers declared that they had amassed “a tremendous amount” of private information from the massive aerospace company and threatened to post it online unless Boeing paid a ransom by November 2.
The information from Boeing was released early on Friday morning, per a post on Lockbit’s website.
Boeing acknowledged in a statement that there had been a cybersecurity incident affecting “elements” of the company’s parts and distribution division.
“We are aware that, in connection with this incident, a criminal ransomware actor has released information it alleges to have taken from our systems,” Boeing said.
“We continue to investigate the incident and will remain in contact with law enforcement, regulatory authorities, and potentially impacted parties, as appropriate.”
The company stated that it “remains confident” that the incident does not endanger aircraft or flight safety, although it made no mention of whether Lockbit had gained defence or other classified information.
The ransomware Lockbit, which was originally discovered in January 2020 on Russian-language forums for cybercrime, has been found worldwide, with US, Indian, and Brazilian organisations being regular targets, according to a report released last year by cybersecurity company Trend Micro.
It described them as “one of the most professional organised criminal gangs in the criminal underground.”
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency reports that the gang has targeted 1,700 U.S. organisations.
Trades in the United States were disrupted on Thursday due to a ransomware attack that targeted the U.S. arm of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
Lockbit is thought to have been responsible for the hack, according to a number of ransomware experts and analysts, despite the fact that ICBC was not mentioned on the gang’s dark web domain, where it usually displays the names of its victims.
