The LockBit cyber-extortion group claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automobile tires, Bridgestone Americas. Hackers started a timer counting down the time to pay the ransom, and threatened to publish the data stolen from the company if the money was not transferred on time.
Bridgestone owns dozens of manufacturing plants around the world and employs more than 130 thousand employees (full-time and contractors).
On February 27, 2022, the company launched an investigation into a “potential information security incident” discovered on the morning of the same day. As a precautionary measure, many manufacturing plants and tire shops in South and North America have been disconnected from the corporate network.
No details about the incident appeared until the other day, LockBit’s cybercriminals took responsibility for it, adding Bridgestone to the list of their victims. The nature of the data stolen by hackers and the possible consequences of their leakage are still unknown.
According to a February report by the information security company Dragos, last year LockBit was the most active cyber-extortion group attacking the industrial sector. It accounted for 103 attacks, while the next Conti accounted for 63.