A handful of automakers have been targeted by cyber criminals and the latest victim is Volvo, which has revealed “one of its file repositories has been illegally accessed by a third party.”
In a short statement, the automaker said they’re investigating the incident but can confirm a “limited amount of the company’s R&D property has been stolen.” They went on to say there could be an impact on operations as a result of the attack.
That’s pretty vague, but Volvo said they “immediately implemented security countermeasures” once the unauthorized access was detected. The automaker also took “steps to prevent further access to its property and notified relevant authorities.”
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Volvo is conducting their own investigation and is working with a third-party specialist to examine the “property theft.” The investigation will take time to complete, but early indications point to no customer data being accessed in the attack.
That’s interesting and it could indicate the attack was focused on stealing the company’s intellectual property. This remains to be seen, but a spokesperson told Reuters the automaker was “approached by a third party.” However, it remains unclear if that third party was a security researcher or the attackers themselves.
Two years ago, the FBI warned criminals have been targeting the automotive industry and their efforts have resulted in ransomware infections, data breaches, and the exfiltration of personally identifiable information. Officials said hackers have used an assortment of methods to accomplish their goals including everything from brute force attacks to phishing schemes.
