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A cyber attack on Japanese watch manufacturer Seiko has been claimed by major cyber criminal organisation ALPHV.
Seiko published a statement early this month that it had suffered from a possible data breach, as it had detected unauthorised access.
“Seiko Group Corporation has confirmed that on July 28th of this year, the company suffered a possible data breach. It appears that some as-yet-unidentified party or parties gained unauthorised access to at least one of our servers,” the statement said.
“Subsequently, on August 2nd, we commissioned a team of external cyber security experts to investigate and assess the situation.
“As a result, we are now reasonably certain that there was a breach and that some information stored by our company and/or our group companies may have been compromised.”
The company added that investigations were underway to determine what information was stored on the accessed servers, and if any had been stolen.
Now, almost a month after the initial breach, the ALPHV, aka BlackCat ransomware group, added Seiko to its dark web list of victims.
#Japan ?? - ALPHV, aka Blackcat, ransomware group has announced Seiko Group Corporation on the victim list
— Daily Dark Web (@DailyDarkWeb) August 21, 2023
"Seiko manufactures and sells watches, clocks, electronic devices, semiconductors, and optical products."#DarkWeb #ransomware pic.twitter.com/Pu7efazibZ
Screenshots provided by @DailyDarkWeb on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) show ALPHV has posted a number of samples of the data.
“Working closely with cyber security experts, we are now making every effort to prevent further damage and to ensure that our systems are secure against any similar recurrence,” added Seiko.
“We deeply apologise to all concerned for any anxiety or inconvenience this may cause. The company and all our group companies kindly ask our customers and business partners to contact us immediately if you receive any suspicious or unusual emails or notifications from us.”
ALPHV is considered one of the most prolific ransomware groups operating today, claiming responsibility for the recent HWL Ebsworth cyber attack, which has seen the data of major corporations such as the big four banks, state governments, the fair work ombudsman, and more, compromised.
ALPHV was first detected in 2021, with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) saying it detected an increase in activity starting 2022. The group provides its services as a ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), taking a percentage of profits from other groups who use their software.
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