<
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/158-year-old-company-forced-to-close-after-ransomware-attack-precipitated-by-a-single-guessed-password-700-jobs-lost-after-hackers-demand-unpayable-sum>
'A UK-based transportation company with a venerable 158-year history has
collapsed in the wake of a ransomware attack. Around 500 Northamptonshire-based
Knights of Old (KNP) trucks are now off the road, and 700 people have lost
their jobs, due to money-grasping cyberattackers, named as ‘Akira’ in a
BBC
report.
The internet-connected criminals are said to have gained access to KNP’s
internet systems via a weak password that was used by one of the employees at
the firm. Actually, the password was so weak it was simply guessed correctly,
it is thought. Naturally, KNP doesn't want to name the specific employee whose
password was compromised. After breaking this weakest link, the hackers
encrypted and locked KNP’s operational data. The cyber villains then told KNP
that the only way to get their data unlocked would be to pay.
A ransom note left by the hackers read as follows. “If you're reading this it
means the internal infrastructure of your company is fully or partially dead…
Let's keep all the tears and resentment to ourselves and try to build a
constructive dialogue,” says the
BBC report.
While the
BBC report doesn't expand, the story is also the subject of a
Panorama documentary released this week. According to the program, KNP had
taken out insurance against cyberattacks. Its provider, Solace Global, sent a
"cybercrisis" team to help, arriving on the scene on the following morning.
According to Paul Cashmore of Solace, the team quickly determined that all of
KNP's data had been encrypted, and all of their servers, backups, and disaster
recovery had been destroyed. Furthermore,
all of their endpoints had also
been compromised, described as a worst-case scenario.
KNP investigated the ransomware demand with the help of a specialist firm,
which estimated that the monetary demands could be as high as £5 million ($6.74
million). This was a sum well beyond the means of KNP, the documentary noting
the company "simply didn't have the money."'
Via Violet Blue’s
Threat Model - Cybersecurity: July 29, 2025
https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-29-135201109
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
