Killnet Releases ‘Proof’ of Its Attack Against Lockheed Martin

On August 1, Lockheed Martin was supposedly targeted with a DDoS attack delivered by the pro-Russian hacker group Killnet. The information came via the Moscow Times who reported Killnet’s claim for responsibility. 

Newsweek added that Killnet claimed to have stolen Lockheed Martin employee data and threatened to share that data.

There has been no word from Lockheed Martin about the supposed attack beyond telling Newsweek it is “aware of the reports and have policies and procedures in place to mitigate cyber threats to our business,” adding that “we remain confident in the integrity of our robust, multi-layered information systems and data security.”

Killnet is a pro-Russia group that specializes in DoS and DDoS attacks. It is thought to have been formed in March 2022, and that its primary motivation is retaliation against perceived enemies of Russia. It is believed to be responsible for politically motivated attacks in Romania, Moldova, the Czech Republic, Italy, Lithuania, Norway and Latvia – as well as Eurovision 2022. 

It claimed responsibility for the attack against Lithuania in late June 2022, which it said was in retaliation for the restrictions imposed by Lithuania against Russia earlier in June.

Lockheed Martin produces the high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) provided by the US to Ukraine and used to great effect against the Russian invading army. Lockheed Martin is consequently a natural target for pro-Russia hacking groups.

On August 11, 2022, Killnet reportedly shared a video on its Telegram group that claims to depict PII of Lockheed Martin employees. DDoS attacks are sometimes used to disguise and enable data exfiltration, so the claim is not beyond the bounds of plausibility.

Louise Ferrett, a threat intelligence analyst at Searchlight Security, has examined the video. It comprises, she said, “what appears to be Lockheed Martin employee names, email addresses, and phone numbers, with pictures of people – presumably the employees – overlaid.”

Killnet also uploaded two spreadsheets with the message (translated from Russian), “For those who have nothing to do, you can email Lockheed Martin Terrorists – photos and videos of the consequences of their manufactured weapons! Let them realize what they create and what they contribute to.”

However, Ferret is not convinced. “Cross-referencing a sample of the data it does appear that they are or were genuine Lockheed employees, however that does not necessarily confirm that the company was breached,” she said. “For example, this could be a re-hash of old or open source data in an attempt to undermine the organization and intimidate its employees.”

On the one hand, Lockheed Martin has said nothing about an attack, nevermind a breach. That, however, proves nothing either way. On the other hand, Killnet has failed to provide irrefutable evidence of exfiltrated data – which again doesn’t prove anything.

Without a comment from Lockheed Martin or proof from Killnet, this is more likely to be a propaganda exercise from a pro-Russian hacking group than a successful attack against Lockheed Martin. SecurityWeek has asked the HIMARS manufacturer for a comment on Killnet’s latest claims and will append any response we receive.

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