Bernice J. Hicks 
Cybercriminals claim to have hacked into the systems of a major Foxconn factory in Mexico and are threatening to release stolen files if the company does not pay a ransom.
Foxconn Baja California, located in the city of Tijuana on the California border, specializes in medical devices, consumer electronics and industrial operations. The establishment has 5,000 employees.
A threat group using LockBit 2.0 ransomware claims to have hit this factory and is threatening to release stolen information on June 11 unless the victim pays.
It is unclear whether the ransomware attack had an impact on operational technology (OT) systems.
safety week contacted the electronics manufacturing giant, but we have yet to hear back.
This isn’t the first time Foxconn has been hit by ransomware. In December 2020, the company confirmed that some of its systems in the United States had been the target of a cyberattack after ransomware group DoppelPaymer began leaking files that were allegedly stolen from the company.
While Foxconn said at the time that the attack impacted US systems, the hackers claimed to have entered a facility in Mexico. The cybercriminals demanded over $34 million in bitcoins.
LockBit 2.0 hackers also recently claimed to have stolen files from tire and rubber giant Bridgestone Americas.
In February, the FBI released Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) for LockBit 2.0 attacks and noted that ransomware operators typically breach corporate networks by buying access or exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities, zero- day or insider access.
Related: Ransomware attack hits agricultural equipment giant AGCO’s production facilities
Related: French Ministry of Justice Targeted in Ransomware Attack
Related: Biomanufacturing Facilities Warned of Attacks Involving Sophisticated Malware
Edouard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a SecurityWeek Contributing Editor. He worked as a high school computer teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as a security reporter for Softpedia. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial computing and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied to electrical engineering.
Key words:
