Ransomware Groups Target South Korean Manufacturers in 23 Cyberattacks This Year

Ransomware groups have claimed 23 cyberattacks on South Korean manufacturing plants this year, Seoul Economic Daily reported. The incidents specifically targeted critical design drawings and production data as factories across the country become increasingly connected. [1]

The operational risks to manufacturing facilities mirror previous incidents in the sector. According to Seoul Economic Daily, British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover was forced to halt its IT systems and production lines in September last year to contain damage from a cyberattack. [1]

The five week shutdown at Jaguar Land Rover suspended vehicle output by approximately 5,000 vehicles per week at major British plants. Seoul Economic Daily reported that the incident caused parts shortages and delayed payments, impacting more than 5,000 companies and institutions. The Cyber Monitoring Centre estimated the economic cost of that disruption at 1.9 billion pounds. [1]

Ransomware threats often exploit unpatched infrastructure vulnerabilities. The 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack propagated globally using the EternalBlue exploit against targeted computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, affecting organizations that failed to apply patches released by Microsoft. [6]