Ransomware attack hits LG battery subsidiary

• LG Energy Solution suffered ransomware at one overseas facility, now restored and under investigation
• Akira claims theft of 1.7TB data, including employee records and corporate documents
• If true, stolen data could fuel phishing or be sold for significant profit

LG Energy Solution, a South Korean battery company and a subsidiary of LG, has confirmed it recently suffered a ransomware attack.

In a statement shared with The Record, a company spokesperson said the attackers targeted one specific facility, and that the attack was already mitigated.

“The attack targeted a specific overseas facility, and we have confirmed that the headquarters and other facilities were not affected,” the spokesperson said. “The impacted facility is now operating normally after the recovery measures were taken, and we are conducting security operations and investigations as a precautionary measure.”

Akira takes the blame

The company has facilities on multiple continents, including eight in North America.

LG Energy Solution is a South Korean company specializing in the design and manufacture of advanced lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), energy storage systems (ESS), and consumer electronics. In 2024, it earned more than $17 billion, the publication added. No further comments were shared regarding the attack.

At the same time, infamous threat actors going by Akira added LG Energy Solution to their data leak website, saying they stole roughly 1.7 terabytes of data.

“We will upload almost 1.67TB of corporate documents and 46gb of SQL databases soon,” the listing apparently said. “Lots of employee personal information (visas,

US and Korean passports, medical documents, Korean ID cards, addresses, phones, emails and so on), confidential projects, NDAs, confidentiality agreements, detailed financials, information about clients and partners, lots of contracts, etc.”

Since LG Energy Solution is currently investigating the attack, it is not yet possible to confirm, or deny, these claims. However, if they are true, then Akira has plenty of information that is worth a lot of money on the black market. In theory, it could sell it for hundreds of thousands of dollars, possibly even millions. Alternatively, if the database contains email addresses, they could be used to launch devastating phishing attacks, as well.

Via The Record

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