Ransomware

Industrial Giant ABB Confirms Ransomware Attack, Data Theft

Industrial giant ABB has confirmed that it has been targeted in a ransomware attack, with the cybercriminals stealing some data.

Eduard Kovacs

Published

May 27, 2023

Ransomware reporting requirements

Swiss industrial giant ABB confirmed this week that it was recently targeted in a ransomware attack and that the cybercriminals exfiltrated some data.

The company has issued a press release and an FAQ describing the incident, with many details — including indicators of compromise (IoCs) — being withheld due to the ongoing law enforcement investigation.

“ABB has determined that an unauthorized third-party accessed certain ABB systems, deployed a type of ransomware that is not self-propagating, and exfiltrated certain data,” ABB said. “The company is working to identify and analyze the nature and scope of affected data and is further assessing its notification obligations.”

The malware was allegedly only deployed on a ‘limited number’ of servers and endpoints. The malware was distributed via manual intervention and it could not automatically spread through emails or on the local network, ABB said.

“All of ABB’s key services and systems are up and running, all factories are operating, and the company continues to serve its customers. The company also continues to restore any remain- ing impacted services and systems and is further enhancing the security of its systems,” the company noted.

In private notifications sent to customers, ABB said its forensic investigation found no evidence of customer systems being directly impacted. In addition, there is no indication that it’s unsafe to connect to ABB systems.

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Bleeping Computer was the first to report that ABB was targeted by the Black Basta ransomware group. Kevin Beaumont, a reputable cybersecurity researcher, has independently confirmed it.

Beaumont said on Friday that the company has paid the ransom, which would explain why it has not been named on Black Basta’s leak website.

SecurityWeek reached out to ABB for comment on these claims, but the company said it’s not commenting beyond the information in its press release.

ABB provides electrification and automation solutions in many countries around the world. The company has more than 100,000 employees.

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