ITALY: Luxury car manufacturer Ferrari is investigating a cybersecurity incident after a subsidiary received a ransom demand for customer contact information.
Ferrari SpA, the company’s Italian affiliate, promptly started an inquiry with a third-party cybersecurity firm and notified the appropriate officials.
While the incident is regrettable, the company’s CEO Benedetto Vigna attempted to alleviate concerns by stating that the attacker could not steal sensitive payment information or details of owned or ordered Ferrari cars.
The incident involved a threat actor who gained access to a limited number of systems in the company’s IT environment, which exposed specific customer contact information, including names, addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
The company verified the data dangled before it by whoever demanded the ransom. The carmaker has informed customers about the potential data exposure and the nature of the incident, but it will not pay any ransom requests.
The message and declaration do not refer to ransomware, only that the perpetrator has requested a ransom. However, papers do not rule out the possibility of ransomware, stating that the breach did not impact the company’s operational functions.
Cybercriminals are increasingly transitioning from ransomware and information exfiltration to pure blackmail. As technological fixes for malware become more common, some have resorted to threatening to reveal clients and vendors.
Ferrari stated that it is working with third-party experts to reinforce its systems, regardless of where the data originated from. Additionally, the Italian carmaker has engaged the services of a “leading global third-party cybersecurity firm” and notified the appropriate authorities.
The incident could be a wake-up call for Ferrari, as even the most basic Ferrari costs more than $200,000. As a result, the attacker involved in the incident as access to information on wealthy people and how to reach them, making the stolen data valuable to criminals.
Ferrari apologized for the data breach and assured customers it would do everything to regain their trust. The incident serves as a reminder that even high-end companies are not immune to cybersecurity incidents.
Cybersecurity should be a top priority for businesses, and they should take all necessary measures to protect their data and their customer’s information.
The incident could also lead to increased scrutiny of Ferrari’s cybersecurity practices, with customers and investors closely monitoring the carmaker’s response to the incident.
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