LG Energy Solution Hacked: Akira Group Claims Theft of 1.7 TB of Data
Major battery manufacturers are increasingly coming under pressure from extortionist groups, and new reports confirm that criminal interest in this sector continues to grow. This time, the incident affected an LG division that supplies energy solutions for the automotive industry and other sectors.
LG Energy Solution announced that it had detected unauthorized interference affecting one of its overseas facilities. Company representatives emphasized that the headquarters and other sites were not impacted. According to their statement, the affected plant has returned to normal operations after recovery procedures were completed, while additional inspections and monitoring are still underway. The company declined to comment on the specifics of the incident.
The division holds a prominent position in the global battery market and last year generated roughly $17.5 billion from supplying power cells to automakers. It is therefore unsurprising that it has drawn the attention of extortionist groups. This week, a group calling itself Akira added LG Energy Solution to its victim list on a leak site used to publish stolen information. The attackers claim to have exfiltrated approximately 1.7 terabytes of data, allegedly including internal documents, employee information, and other materials.
Several days ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation updated its advisory on the group’s activity and provided an estimate of its illicit profits. According to the bureau, the amount exceeds $244 million. FBI cyber officials note that Akira’s operations threaten the stability of manufacturers, educational institutions, healthcare infrastructure, and commercial organizations, as the group does not limit itself to data encryption but also engages in the theft of substantial datasets.
The agency’s notice states that manufacturing companies and several other sectors are currently under heightened threat. The growing strategic importance of the battery industry is only intensifying criminal interest in this field. Last year, Germany’s Varta suffered prolonged downtime due to a similar incident, and a key raw-material supplier for battery production lost around $60 million following an attack by malicious actors.
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