- Foxconn, the biggest electronics manufacturer in the world, has been hit by a ransomware attack
- The attack on its Mexican facility, which took place over Thanksgiving, saw over 1,000 servers encrypted
- The hackers demanded ₿1,804 to unencrypt the files
Electronics giant Foxconn has suffered a ransomware attack, with the hackers demanding a whopping $34 million in Bitcoin. The Chinese manufacturer, the largest of its kind in the world with customers including Apple, was hit by the attack at its Mexican facility, with hackers using the DoppelPaymer variant to steal unencrypted files and then remotely encrypting the devices they were held on. Foxconn has confirmed the attack but has not commented on whether it has paid the ransom or not.
Foxconn Sees “1,200-1,400” Servers Encrypted
The hack, which took place over Thanksgiving weekend was reported this week by tech website Bleeping Computer. The hackers left a document on the affected computers which explained their demands and what would happen if they are not met. The hackers threatened to make public a tranche of information if there was no contact from Foxconn within three days, and Foxconn employees were told to not reset or shut down their computers, tamper with the encrypted files in any way, or use any recovery tools in an attempt to get their files back.
The only way to have the files unencrypted, the hackers said, was to pay them ₿1,804, worth $33 million at the current price. The hackers claimed to have encrypted “around 1,200-1,400 servers” and “about 75TB of misc backups”.
No Confirmation of Ransom Paid
Foxconn did not confirm or deny whether they had paid the Bitcoin ransom, stating to Bleeping Computer only that the attack had indeed taken place on November 29 and that, “The system that was affected by this incident is being thoroughly inspected and being brought back into service in phases.” However, unless they have managed to find a way to unencrypt the files in their own way, Foxconn may have had to pay up.
