Leading Taiwan-based memory and storage manufacturer ADATA was forced to take its systems offline after it was targeted by a ransomware attack in late May, the company has admitted.
Ranked amongst the top DRAM and SSD manufacturers, ADATA also manufactures mobile accessories, gaming products, as well as electric power trains, and industrial solutions.
In an email to Bleeping Computer, ADATA confirmed that it was hit by a ransomware attack on May 23, 2021, and responded by taking down all impacted systems and notifying all relevant international authorities of the incident.
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The attack is significant also because of its timing, as it comes in the midst of the ongoing chip shortage. With manufacturers struggling to keep pace with the demands, any downtime could further delay the industry's recovery.
Chip vendors have become a lucrative target for ransomware operators, who can use the threat of downtime, which can prove to be a lot more costly in these turbulent times than the ransom, as another bargaining chip.
Missing details
Crucially though, ADATA did not name the threat actors behind the ransomware operation, nor did it provide any details about the ransom demands.
However, Bleeping Computer says that the Ragnar Locker ransomware gang has already claimed that it was behind the ADATA attack. In fact, the gang claims to have made away with 1.5TB of sensitive data from ADATA's computers.
Reportedly, the Ragnar Locker has also posted screenshots of the stolen files in order to prove their claims, even as they continue to threaten to leak the rest of the data if the ransom isn’t paid.
ADATA however claims that its business operations are no longer disrupted and that it is busy restoring the affected devices.
But as has become the norm with most such ransomware disclosures, ADATA, in its email to Bleeping Computer, didn’t mention whether it has given in to the demands of the threat actors and paid the ransom to garner control over its network and data.
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