Boeing Declines $200 Million Ransom Demand for Stolen Data

American aircraft manufacturer Boeing is standing firm and refusing to cave to hackers who stole 43GB of data. The hackers demanded $200 million in ransom before returning the data. Boeing was hacked in October last year by the LockBit ransomware gang, which threatened to release a ‘tremendous amount’ of secure data.

As Boeing showed no signs of giving in, LockBit eventually published the information, which included the aircraft manufacturer’s IT management software, monitoring logs, and other auditing tools.

Photo: Thiago B Trevisan | Shutterstock

Fast-forward to today, and an unsealed United States Department of Justice indictment against LockBit’s mastermind, Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev, had named a ‘multinational aeronautical and defense corporation, headquartered in Virginia, ‘ was struck with another ransom of $200 million to which Boeing confirmed it was them once again.

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$500 million in counting

Khoroshev has been charged for creating the LockBit group, which has a list of 2,000 victims and surpassed $500 million in ransom payments. Law enforcement attempted to take down the organization earlier this year. However, this week saw the feds step back in again. The move by Khoroshev has seen an international effect in bringing down LockBit, with sanctions being placed against the hacker mastermind from the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia.

Boeing’s $200 million ransom is one of the most significant demands in recent ransomware attacks, with other victims like Maersk, a transportation giant, losing $300 million in an attack in 2020. However, these are a shadow of what Amey PLC, a British Engineering company, faced with a $2 billion attack in 2021.

Photo: Thiago B Trevisan | Shutterstock

Impact at Boeing

Data pinched from the manufacturer meant that Boeing had to limit certain business areas, such as parts and distribution. However, it reminded customers that flight safety was uncompromised. This breach identified concerns about the exposure of sensitive information and the requirements for a robust firewall and cybersecurity measures for the aviation industry.

This latest demand is just another blow to Boeing’s reputation, which has suffered several blows in recent months, including quality control concerns brought into the spotlight by whistleblowers, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

As a result of continued challenges, production of the popular 737 MAX aircraft has slowed down, and there has even been a shake-up at the executive table, with CEO Dave Calhoun announcing his resignation effective at the end of 2024. In a letter sent to all Boeing staff, Calhoun described the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX incident this January as the “watershed moment” for the aircraft manufacturer, and he believed that due to the challenges Boeing was facing, it was the right time for a CEO transition.

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