Volkswagen Hacked, Critical Data Stolen

One of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers, Volkswagen has fallen victim to a sophisticated hackers who penetrated Volkswagen Group’s IT systems, stealing over 19k documents undetected for an extended period - likely to be for longer than five years.   

According to reports from Germa  broadcaster ZDF, malicious actors repeatedly infiltrated Volkswagen’s systems and patiently exfiltrating Pntellectual Property over the period between 2010 and 2015.

Volkswagen Group is one of the world’s largest automakers, with last year’s revenue exceeding $322 billion and employees over 667,000. The group’s brands include Audi, Lamborghini, MAN, Porsche, Skoda, Bentley, and others. The attackers  focused on the company’s development of gasoline engines, transmission development, and dual-clutch transmission research. Additionally, attackers focused a lot of effort on Volkswagen’s electric vehicle (EV) research. 

According to sources, at least 19,000 documents were stolen from the can manufacturer, although Volkswagen's security team did manage to recover some of the files.The nature of the stolen data stolen in the Volkswagen cyberattack indicates that the hackers were not simply opportunistic. Rather, they had a specific focus on acquiring high-value technological information. 

Detailed research the exfiltrated files shows that the main target were Volkswagen’s proprietary EV technologies and production processe This might turn out to be a significant threat to Volkswagen’s competitive advantage in the growing worldwide EV market.

It is understood that the  attackers’ IP addresses, the software they used and the time zone they operate all point to the hack originating from China. 

In response to the breach, Volkswagen  initiated a comprehensive security overhaul. The company works closely with cybersecurity experts and international law enforcement agencies to track the perpetrators and prevent further leaks of sensitive information. 

Volkswagen has assured its customers and other stakeholders that immediate steps are being taken to enhance security measures and safeguard against future attacks.

ZDF     |      Cybernews   |   Cubic Lighthouse    |     GBHackers    |   Cybersecuritynews     |    SecureBlink     | 

Image: Unsplash

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