Pendragon – the automotive dealership group which owns Evans Halshaw, CarStore, and Stratstone – has confirmed that its IT servers have been hacked by cybercriminals who declare to have stolen 5 per cent of its knowledge.
In response to The Occasions, the LockBit 3.0 extortion gang has demanded a cryptocurrency ransom equal to $60 million be paid by Pendragon, which operates round 160 showrooms throughout the UK.
A go to to Lockbit’s leak web site on the darkish internet reveals that the extortionists are threatening to launch information stolen from Pendragon on Saturday 29 October.
Pendragon, nevertheless, says it isn’t going to pay.
Pendragon mentioned it had not engaged in any dialogue about paying the gang, which desires the ransom paid right into a bitcoin pockets. “We refuse to be held hostage by this group and we won’t be paying a ransom demand,” Kim Costello, the chief advertising officer, mentioned.
Pendragon’s web site has been maintaining the surface world usually up to date on how it’s responding to the ransomware assault.
The corporate has reported the assault to the Info Commissioner’s Workplace (ICO) and the police, and knowledgeable the Nationwide Cyber Safety Centre (NCSC).
Pendragon says the assault has not affected its means to serve clients, and that it has since secured its techniques.
Curiously, Pendragon additionally says it has “efficiently obtained an interim injunction from the Excessive Court docket towards the menace actor.”
I think {that a} Excessive Court docket injunction won’t stop “individuals unknown” – prone to be based mostly exterior the UK – from leaking the info, however I think that isn’t the first cause why they’ve completed it.
Taking an injunction towards the blackmailers does, nevertheless, assist Pendragon present their shoppers that they’re doing all the things of their energy to stop the knowledge from being leaked – and maybe assist defend the corporate from future authorized motion.
Moreover, if these accountable are ever recognized, the existence of the injunction could assist to hunt recompense at some point, maybe via seizing their property.
The information of Pendragon’s cyber assault comes at an inconvenient time for the automotive dealership group. It has just lately acquired a takeover provide of £400 million from Swedish motor firm Hedin Group.
I’m impressed that Pendragon is refusing to pay the ransom. Cyber extortionists solely proceed to blackmail hacked firms as a result of typically they do achieve swindling their victims out of thousands and thousands of {dollars} value of cryptocurrency.
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