Sensitive Department of Homeland Security (DHS) information might have been compromised in a recent ransomware attack aimed at government contractor Johnson Controls International.
A multinational giant headquartered in Cork, Ireland, Johnson Controls produces industrial control systems and smart building equipment, software, and services, including HVAC, security, fire protection, and support solutions.
The company serves clients in the education, government, healthcare, hospitality, naval, and transportation sectors, including the DoD, DHS, and other government agencies in the US.
In an 8-K Form filing last week, the company announced that it fell victim to a cyberattack that disrupted some of its “internal information technology infrastructure and applications”.
While the company did not share information on the type of cyberattack it has suffered, the disruptions are indicative of file-encrypting ransomware being deployed on the company’s internal systems.
In fact, cybersecurity experts have revealed on social media that a ransomware group called Dark Angels has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The cybercrime group claims to have exfiltrated 27TB of sensitive data from Johnson Controls and is apparently demanding a $51 million ransom from the company to provide it with a decryption tool and to delete the stolen information.
According to CNN, after news of the ransomware attack broke, the DHS launched its own investigation into the matter, to determine whether sensitive department data might have been compromised during the attack.
An internal DHS memo reportedly states that Johnson Controls holds documents depicting “the physical security of many DHS facilities”, such as floor plans and security information, and that these documents might have been stored on the compromised servers.
The exact impact on the DHS’s systems and facilities is yet unknown, but further details on the matter are likely to become available as the investigation into the incident advances.
Responding to a SecurityWeek inquiry, Johnson Controls shared no other details than what it included in the 8-K Form last week.
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