Hyundai Europe confirms it was hit by a major ransomware attack

Ransomware
Image credit: Shutterstock (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Hyundai Motor Europe, the South Korean carmaker’s European division, has confirmed suffering a ransomware attack earlier this year. 

In early January, news broke of a cyber-incident within the firm, but Hyundai quickly shot the talk down, claiming to just having experienced “IT issues”.

However, BleepingComputer uncovered new evidence pointing to a data theft incident, after which Hyundai came clean and confessed.

Major threat

"Hyundai Motor Europe is investigating a case in which an unauthorized third party has accessed a limited part of the network of Hyundai Motor Europe," Hyundai Motor Europe said in a stratement.

"Our investigations are ongoing, and we are working closely with external cybersecurity and legal experts. Relevant local authorities have also been notified. Trust and security are fundamental to our business, and our priority is the protection of our customers, employees, investors, and partners."

More details are yet to emerge from the firm, including who ran the attack, what type of information was stolen (customer data, employee data, partner data, or something else entirely), if there were any ransom demands, and what they were. So far, we have reports from BleepingComputer stating that it was the Black Basta ransomware threat actor that orchestrated the attack, and that approximately 3 terabytes of data were taken. 

The publication claims to have seen lists of folders possibly stolen from different Windows domains, including those from KIA Europe. Folder names suggest the data belonged to legal, sales, human resources, accounting, IT, and management departments. 

Black Basta was first seen in April 2022, and has since then grown to become one of the biggest and most dangerous ransomware operators out there. 

Late last year, a Sophos report stated that a number of ransomware operators, including Black Basta, started intentionally using remote encryption, a super destructive method of ransomware attack. The company’s anti-ransomware CryptoGuard technology detected a 62% increase, year-on-year, in intentional remote encryption attacks. 

More from TechRadar Pro

Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.

Read more
A laptop with a red screen with a white skull on it with the message: "RANSOMWARE. All your files are encrypted."
Major ransomware attack sees Tata Technologies hit - 1.4TB dataset with over 730,000 files allegedly stolen
ID theft
Tata Technologies confirms ransomware attack, says investigation still ongoing
sewage water treatment
Southern Water denies claims it offered $750,000 ransom to ransomware hackers
Ransomware
Lee Enterprises blames cyberattack for encrypting critical systems as US newspaper outages drag on
Code Skull
Top component maker Unimicron hit by massive ransomware attack
ransomware avast
Engineering giant ENGlobal confirms hackers hit internal data
Latest in Security
Hacker silhouette working on a laptop with North Korean flag on the background
North Korea unveils new military unit targeting AI attacks
An image of network security icons for a network encircling a digital blue earth.
US government warns agencies to make sure their backups are safe from NAKIVO security issue
Laptop computer displaying logo of WordPress, a free and open-source content management system (CMS)
This top WordPress plugin could be hiding a worrying security flaw, so be on your guard
Computer Hacked, System Error, Virus, Cyber attack, Malware Concept. Danger Symbol
Veeam urges users to patch security issues which could allow backup hacks
UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer
The UK releases timeline for migration to post-quantum cryptography
Representational image depecting cybersecurity protection
Cisco smart licensing system sees critical security flaws exploited
Latest in News
L-mount alliance
Sirui joins L-Mount Alliance to deliver its superb budget lenses for Leica, DJI, Sigma and Panasonic cameras
Security padlock and circuit board to protect data
Trust in digital services around the world sees a massive drop as security worries continue
Samuel and Romy standing very close together in A24's Babygirl movie
Everything new on Max in April 2025, including A24's Babygirl and The Last of Us season 2
An AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT made by Sapphire on a table with its retail packaging
AMD’s secret weapon against Nvidia seems to be stock – way more RX 9070 GPUs are rumored to be hitting shelves than RTX 5000 models
Hacker silhouette working on a laptop with North Korean flag on the background
North Korea unveils new military unit targeting AI attacks
Seth Milchick and Kier Eagan's animatronic speaking in Severance season 2 episode 10
Apple TV+ announces Severance has been renewed for season 3 after that devastating finale