As reported in our previous article, Taiwanese electronics company Compal , which manufactures laptops for leading global brands such as HP and Apple , has been the victim of a cyberattack. It appears that the DoppelPaymer gang is behind the attack , as indicated by a screenshot of the ransom note released by Yahoo Taiwan.
The security breach reportedly affected around 30% of Compal's computers, with the company acknowledging the incident but denying that it was a ransomware attack .
Compal's deputy director, Qingxiong Lu, admitted that the company was affected by a security breach. However, he denied that the incident was a ransomware attack. In his statement, he said that "Compal is not being blackmailed by hackers."
He also clarified that the security breach only affected Compal's internal network, not its production lines. Qingxiong promised that the company's IT staff would quickly resolve the "anomaly" in the system . However, Bleeping Computer confirmed that Compal was hit by a ransomware attack by the DoppelPaymer group.
Compal is the second largest laptop manufacturer in the world after Quanta Computer and works with leading computer brands such as Apple, Acer, Lenovo, Dell, Toshiba, HP and Fujitsu. In addition to laptops, Compal electronics also manufactures smartwatches, monitors, tablets, smart TVs and other computing devices and components.
The criminals behind the Compal security breach demanded approximately $17 million. Specifically, they asked for 1,100 bitcoins, or $16,725,500.00, in order to decrypt the data .
The DoppelPaymer ransomware gang has carried out other similar attacks, including those on Newcastle University, PEMEX (Petróleos Mexicanos), Hall County in Georgia, the city of Torrance in California, and ransomware attacks on Bretagne Télécom. Elon Musk's SpaceX also suffered a security breach related to DoppelPaymer.
Gurucul CEO Saryu Nayyar says the company's denial of the ransomware attack shows the failure of its cybersecurity strategy.
