Boeing under $200 million cyber extortion attack by LockBit

Boeing revealed on Wednesday that the cybercriminals, who targeted the company with a LockBit ransomware platform in October 2023 had demanded a $200 million ransom payment.

The aircraft-manufacturer confirmed to CyberScoop that Boeing was the multinational aerospace and defence corporation mentioned in an indictment unsealed by the US Department of Justice.

The indictment, which named Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev as the primary administrator and developer of the LockBit ransomware operation, was part of a comprehensive international effort against the Russian individual, involving sanctions from the US, the UK, and Australia.

According to CyberScoop, Boeing refused to comment further and directed inquiries to the FBI; however, the bureau did not respond immediately to requests for comment late Wednesday.

As per reports, Boeing claimed the company did not pay any ransom to LockBit after roughly 43 gigabytes of company data was posted to LockBit’s website in early November, according to BleepingComputer.

CyberScoop reported that Boeing confirmed a “cyber incident” to it at the time that the company said it was “impacting elements of our parts and distribution business,” adding that it had no effect on the safety of the flight.

It must be noted that Boeing never discussed about the stolen data posted by LockBit at any public forum.