Boeing, a leading defense and space contractor, confirmed on Wednesday that it is looking into a cyber incident that affected its parts and distribution operations. The company is also cooperating with a law enforcement investigation into the matter.
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The acknowledgment came after the Lockbit cybercrime group claimed last Friday to have stolen a significant amount of sensitive data from Boeing, threatening to release it online if a ransom was not paid by November 2. As of Wednesday, the threat was no longer visible on Lockbit's website, and the group did not immediately respond to inquiries. Boeing did not confirm or deny Lockbit's involvement in the cyber incident.
A spokesperson for Boeing assured that flight safety was not compromised and that they were actively investigating the incident in collaboration with law enforcement and regulatory authorities. Customers and suppliers were notified. The affected business unit, part of Boeing's Global Services division, offers material and logistics support to clients as per the company's 2022 annual report. Some pages on Boeing's official website related to the Global Services division were temporarily unavailable due to technical issues.
Lockbit, identified as the most active global ransomware group last year, has targeted 1,700 U.S. organizations since 2020, according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The group typically uses ransomware to lock victims' systems and extort them by threatening to leak stolen sensitive data. It remains uncertain what data Lockbit may have taken from Boeing. Cybersecurity expert Brett Callow warned that paying a ransom does not guarantee that the data will not be leaked. He added that the potential loss of military-related information would be highly problematic. Boeing did not comment on whether any defense-related data was affected in the cyber incident. CISA has yet to comment on Boeing's statement.
