Lürssen yacht manufacturer suffered a ransomware attack

The Lürssen yacht manufacturer in Germany allegedly suffered a ransomware attack on Easter Sunday last week. Researchers have yet to identify if the attack impacted the company’s customer information. Hence, the current investigation could not confirm if the attack stole data from the luxurious company.

This German shipbuilder company started its operations in 1875. As of now, researchers claim that the company earns an annual revenue that reaches more than $2 billion. The attack poses a massive threat as the actors could make lucrative amounts since the infected entity could have big-time clients.

Fortunately, the company assured everyone they had coordinated with internal and external experts to address the situation. In addition, the German entity has started all its necessary protective measures and informed the relevant law enforcement agencies.

The company is one of the biggest superyacht manufacturers worldwide, but it also develops sea-going ships for Germany’s navy forces.

 

The ransomware attack on the Lürssen yacht manufacturer halted its operations.

 

Local media reports stated that the Lürssen yacht manufacturer operations suffered disruptions after the ransomware attack. Additional reports confirmed that only two of the company’s shipyards remained unaffected by the attack.

Europe-based attacks follow similar patterns of targeting high-end companies and luxurious brands, such as Zegna, Moncler, and, just recently, Ferrari. The Moncler incident exposed the data of the company’s customers and employees on the dark web after the breach.

According to other reports, the attack on Lürssen showed that the actors are financially motivated as it targets companies that could provide tons of money.

Researchers explained that threat actors do not pick their targets randomly. Some hackers exclusively target organisations or firms that could likely provide them lucrative amounts. Therefore, ransomware attacks against high-end companies have become more prevalent recently.

Furthermore, organisations that do not employ powerful anti-data exfiltration tools will likely fall prey to these attackers. Companies should also have a solid incident response plan that could address unexpected situations such as ransomware attacks.

Organisations with enormous capital do not necessarily mean they are the most protected entities. Placing a competent cybersecurity protocol could significantly increase a company’s cyber defence against hackers or extortionists.