German arms concern Rheinmetall, one of the world’s leading weapons manufacturers, has confirmed it was hit with a cyberattack after the Russia-linked ransomware group Black Basta added the company to a list of victims on their data leak website.
The attack was detected on April 14, 2013. The company didn’t share any details regarding the incident, only said that it is continuing to work on resolving the cyberattack.
The incident reportedly only affected the civilian arm of Rheinmetall’s business, and the company said it was able to thwart the attack on its weapon and ammunition division because it is separated from its civilian business.
“The relevant authorities have been informed. Rheinmetall has filed a criminal complaint with the Cologne public prosecutor’s office,” the spokesperson said.
The BlackBasta intrusion coincided with Rheinmetall's talks of building a new tank plant in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the conglomerate announced it signed an agreement on strategic partnership with Ukraine’s state-owned arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom “intended to strengthen Ukraine’s defence industry and ultimately its national security through the step-by-step creation of joint defence technology capabilities that will be domiciled in Ukraine.”
The start of the joint facility is scheduled for mid-July 2023.
