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Exclusive: RansomHub claims hack on Aussie company Hudson Civil Engineering

The ransomware gang says it has stolen 112 gigabytes of data from the Tasmanian engineering firm.

user icon David Hollingworth
Mon, 12 Aug 2024
Exclusive: RansomHub claims hack on Aussie company Hudson Civil Engineering
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The RansomHub ransomware gang claims to have hacked yet another Australian engineering firm, this time, the Launceston-based Hudson Civil Engineering.

The gang posted remarkably scarce details of the hack on 7 August, simply saying that it – or its affiliate (RansomHub is a ransomware-as-a-service operation) – had stolen 112 gigabytes of data and that it would be published on its darknet leak site in about a week.

As of writing, the countdown to publishing has passed three days and six hours to go.

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The only other information posted about the hack is text copied from Hudson Civil Engineering’s website describing the company’s business.

“Hudson Civil Products (HCP) has been synonymous with civil construction and supply in Tasmania for many years, supplying precast concrete and civil products to customers in a broad range of industries, delivering quality products and exceptional service. Our goal is simple – excellence – both in service and product,” the post said.

No information has been provided on the nature of the data, nor has any sample data been included.

Hudson Civil Engineering has not responded to Cyber Daily’s request for comment.

According to the company’s website, Hudson Civil Engineering is “Tasmania’s leading manufacturer and supplier of infrastructure products to the civil construction, irrigation, water/wastewater, mining, building, development and rural sectors”.

The company has offices in Launceston, where it is headquartered, and in Hobart and Devonport.

Given that RansomHub is a RaaS operation, it’s hard to tell if the gang is specifically targeting Australian engineering firms or if its affiliates are simply taking advantage of smaller companies with less cyber security maturity.

The gang posted details of a ransomware attack on Perth-based engineering outfit McDowall Affleck earlier this month, which the company confirmed, and Victorian firm Kempe Engineering late last week.

RansomHub was first observed in February 2022, and its victim count for August has already soared to 21.

David Hollingworth

David Hollingworth

David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.

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