Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) which is the world's largest lender by assets, is believed to have been the target of a ransomware attack planned by the prolific gang known as Lockbit, according to sources who spoke to Bloomberg.
The hack has caused problems in the US Treasury market, requiring traders to reroute their deals and causing some transactions to fail to clear.
The criminal organisation Lockbit, which has connections to Russia, specialises in encrypting files on its victims' computers with ransomware and then demands money to unlock the files. It claimed responsibility for an attack against ION earlier this year that stopped trading in derivatives on a variety of commodities and bond markets, forcing banks and brokers to handle trades by hand.
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A ransomware assault at ICBC Financial Services section caused some system disruptions, as ICBC revealed in a statement posted on its website on Thursday. The bank stated that it is moving on with its recovery efforts and undertaking a comprehensive investigation. According to the lender, there was no impact on the systems of its main office, other local and international affiliates, including its branch in New York.
Boeing announced a week ago that its website selling replacement aircraft parts, software, and services was taken down due to a hack. If Boeing didn't pay a ransom by November 2, Lockbit threatened to reveal "sensitive data" that belonged to the company. Last week, the hackers posted the name of the business along with a countdown to the day on its website. Later, the name vanished from the website.
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The largest maritime port in Japan, Royal Mail in the UK, the finance department of California, and a children's hospital in Canada are among the other recent Lockbit victims.
