Today, aerospace giant Boeing (NYSE:BA) is investigating allegations made by notorious ransomware group LockBit, who claims to have extracted significant amounts of sensitive data from the company's network. The ransomware gang has threatened to disclose this data unless a ransom agreement is reached by 2 November. The breach could severely damage Boeing's reputation, especially if it includes proprietary or defense contract details.
LockBit issued the threat on its dark web disclosure site, using double extortion tactics and a zero-day exploit. While no specifics about the attack chain or nature of the stolen data were provided, the group's conversation with Vx-underground confirmed the attack.
Hüseyin Can Yuceel of Picus Security suggested that the quality of stolen documents could heavily influence Boeing's response. Despite previous targets such as Mandiant and Thales denying similar claims, LockBit continues its aggressive stance with its widely used ransomware strain. Notably, in January 2023, it hacked Royal Mail (LON:IDSI), demanded a £65 million ransom, reduced it to £33 million when talks failed, and leaked 44 GB of data.
LockBit has been operating under a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model since 2020, notorious for secondary extortion after compromising third-party providers and exploiting newly reported vulnerabilities using freeware and open-source tools. A new 3AM Ransomware was recently deployed by a LockBit affiliate, leading to US government warnings about LockBit 3.0 Ransomware Attacks.
The group targets diverse sectors and was responsible for one-fifth of ransomware attacks in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US in 2021. It initiated nearly 1,700 attacks on US entities and collected approximately $91 million in ransom.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has targeted LockBit recently, charging Russian national Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov with conspiracy to damage computers for ransom and commit wire fraud. A June 2023 report by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) found that 16% of all 2022 US government ransomware incidents traced back to LockBit, underlining the group's global impact.
InvestingPro Insights
In light of recent developments, let's delve into some real-time data and tips from InvestingPro relating to Boeing. The company has been grappling with a few challenges recently, as evidenced by the fact that 13 analysts have revised their earnings downwards for the upcoming period, according to InvestingPro Tips. Additionally, the company has been trading at a high EBIT and EBITDA valuation multiple, which might be a red flag for potential investors.
From a financial standpoint, Boeing's market cap stands at $109.64 billion, and it has seen a revenue growth of 23.34% in the last twelve months as of Q3 2023. Despite this growth, the company's gross profit margin remains weak at 11.44%, which is a point of concern.
The stock price has seen a significant drop over the last three months, with a decrease of 24.72%. This could be attributed to various factors, including the recent allegations made by the ransomware group, LockBit.
For those interested in more insights, you can refer to the additional tips available on the InvestingPro platform. These tips, coupled with real-time data, can provide a comprehensive understanding of the company's current standing and future prospects.
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