Will Austal USA agree to the ransomware terms?
Austal USA, a shipbuilding company and contractor for the US Department of Defense (DoD) and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), confirmed that it was the victim of a cyber attack and is currently investigating the consequences of the incident.
Based in Australia, Austal specializes in high-performance aluminum vessels. Its American division, Austal USA, is engaged in several major projects. Among them is the supply of littoral combat ships of the Independence class for the US Navy, which are 127 meters long and cost $ 360 million per unit. In addition, Austal has a valid contract for $ 3.3 billion for the construction of 11 patrol boats for the US Coast Guard.
On December 6, the hacker group Hunters International, which specializes in extortion, said that it had penetrated the systems of Austal USA and published some information on its website as proof of the intrusion.
In response to a request for comment, a company representative confirmed the attack:
"Recently, we found out that the security of our systems was breached. We managed to quickly eliminate the consequences of the incident.
Regulatory authorities, including the FBI and the Navy Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS), were immediately informed of the problem and are helping us determine the causes and amount of information accessed by the attackers.
No personal information or top-secret data was stolen. We are working closely with the authorities and will continue to inform all stakeholders affected by the incident as new information becomes available.
Austal USA is aware of the gravity of the incident and the special responsibility we have as a DoD and DHS contractor. Our investigation is ongoing as we seek to investigate the incident thoroughly to prevent this from happening in the future."
Hunters International is threatening to release more data stolen from Austal's systems in the coming days, including declarations of conformity, recruitment information, financial data and certificates.
Austal USA did not disclose whether hackers got to the engineering diagrams and other information about the unique technologies of the US Navy.
Hunters International is a brand new ransomware group. Some experts believe that they are a "rebranding" of the Hive gang, which recently ceased its activities. The theory is based on the analysis of malware code suspiciously similar to Hive code.
The group denies all charges, claiming that they only purchased the source code of the cryptographer. According to the attackers, encryption is not the ultimate goal of their attacks – the main focus is on stealing data and using it as leverage to extort ransom from victims.
At the moment, the group's leak site contains more than a dozen victims from different sectors and regions of the world.
Austal USA, a shipbuilding company and contractor for the US Department of Defense (DoD) and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), confirmed that it was the victim of a cyber attack and is currently investigating the consequences of the incident.
Based in Australia, Austal specializes in high-performance aluminum vessels. Its American division, Austal USA, is engaged in several major projects. Among them is the supply of littoral combat ships of the Independence class for the US Navy, which are 127 meters long and cost $ 360 million per unit. In addition, Austal has a valid contract for $ 3.3 billion for the construction of 11 patrol boats for the US Coast Guard.
On December 6, the hacker group Hunters International, which specializes in extortion, said that it had penetrated the systems of Austal USA and published some information on its website as proof of the intrusion.
In response to a request for comment, a company representative confirmed the attack:
"Recently, we found out that the security of our systems was breached. We managed to quickly eliminate the consequences of the incident.
Regulatory authorities, including the FBI and the Navy Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS), were immediately informed of the problem and are helping us determine the causes and amount of information accessed by the attackers.
No personal information or top-secret data was stolen. We are working closely with the authorities and will continue to inform all stakeholders affected by the incident as new information becomes available.
Austal USA is aware of the gravity of the incident and the special responsibility we have as a DoD and DHS contractor. Our investigation is ongoing as we seek to investigate the incident thoroughly to prevent this from happening in the future."
Hunters International is threatening to release more data stolen from Austal's systems in the coming days, including declarations of conformity, recruitment information, financial data and certificates.
Austal USA did not disclose whether hackers got to the engineering diagrams and other information about the unique technologies of the US Navy.
Hunters International is a brand new ransomware group. Some experts believe that they are a "rebranding" of the Hive gang, which recently ceased its activities. The theory is based on the analysis of malware code suspiciously similar to Hive code.
The group denies all charges, claiming that they only purchased the source code of the cryptographer. According to the attackers, encryption is not the ultimate goal of their attacks – the main focus is on stealing data and using it as leverage to extort ransom from victims.
At the moment, the group's leak site contains more than a dozen victims from different sectors and regions of the world.
