BlackCat Ransomware Group Claims Responsibility for Seiko Data Breach Incident

BlackCat Ransomware Group Claims Responsibility for Seiko Data Breach Incident

The notorious ransomware group, BlackCat/ALPHV claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on Japanese watchmaker Seiko. The July 28, data breach incident was disclosed by the company in a statement, published earlier this month.

Japan-headquartered Seiko Group Corp., manufacturer of clocks, watches, semiconductors, jewelry, and optical elements, employs around 12,000 employees and has annual revenue of more than $1.6 billion.

The incident was first reported by the company on its website on August 10; however, it gained attention only after BlackCat added the company to its list of victims. The group also published samples of stolen data on its dark web site as proof. The shared data included scan copies of employee passports, sales reports, new watch designs, alleged production plans, and lab test results.

Seiko in its notification stated that unauthorized third-party or parties gained access to one of its servers and extracted information. The details of the compromised data were not disclosed in the statement; however, the company did reveal the launch of an internal investigation.

‘’Subsequently, on August 2nd, we commissioned a team of external cybersecurity experts to investigate and assess the situation,’’’ the statement read. ‘’As a result, we are now reasonably certain that there was a breach and that some information stored by our Company and/or our Group companies may have been compromised,’’ revealed Seiko.

The company stated that it would be continuing with the investigation to understand what type of information was accessed and extracted by the hackers. In addition to apologizing to its customers and business partners, Seiko also asked the latter to remain vigilant to avoid potential phishing attacks.

‘’[..] ask our customers and business partners to contact us immediately if you receive any suspicious or unusual emails or notifications from us. [..] Please take extreme precautions to prevent your own systems from harm. Tell your staff to refrain from opening such mails if possible or, if they were opened by mistake, to avoid accessing any included links, read Seiko’s statement.

In recent months, the infamous ransomware gang has become well known for attacking enterprises like Estée Lauder, NCR Corp., Casepoint Inc., Reddit, among others.