Industrial Services Company ABB Gets Breached Suffering Serious Project Delays

ABB is a Swiss-based technology company that has contracts with the US government along with other local governments and major companies in different parts of the world. The company specializes in industrial control systems and SCADA systems for manufacturing and energy suppliers. This industrial services company maintains valuable data for many high-profile organizations, which puts those organizations at risk if there is ever a data breach. The company has over 105,000 employees and earned over $29.4 billion in revenue in 2023. ABB was the victim of a security breach in 2023, and that breach has left a huge number of individuals vulnerable as a result. 

How Did the Attack Occur?

ABB suffered from a cybersecurity breach at the hands of the Black Basta ransomware gang. Professional hackers broke into the company's files, extracted some vital information, and attempted to leverage that information to get the company to pay a ransom. ABB hasn't stated whether it paid the ransom or not, but the company did say that key factories suffered operational delays because of the breach. Many company projects were delayed, and there were some significant operations disruptions because of the attack. 

What Information Was Viewed or Stolen?

According to the expert investigation, only ABB was harmed by the attack, and no employees or customers, or clients have suffered from confirmed data losses yet. The attack is a recent one, and it's possible that personal or financial information losses will be uncovered in the future. For that reason, it's important to watch for any updates about the data breach and for notices from the company directed to you. If you receive follow-up information about the breach, you may have to take steps to protect yourself after all. 

How Did ABB Admit to the Breach?

On May 23, 2023, ABB put out a press release explaining this data breach and how it is impacting the company. ABB didn't name the Black Basta ransomware gang as the culprit, but independent third-party investigators identified the gang as being behind the attack. 

What Will Become of the Stolen Information?

The data stolen from ABB will be leveraged to harm the company mostly. The ransomware gang wants to harm the company as much as possible to encourage the organization to pay the requested ransom amount. 

What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach?

While ABB hasn't notified anyone about a loss of personal data yet, it's possible that some users did suffer data losses. If you get notified by ABB in the future about this breach, you should take action to protect yourself. Begin by looking at free credit reports to look for any changes to your credit, then follow up by monitoring any connected financial accounts and also consider getting a credit monitoring service. Between all these different steps, you should be able to protect yourself effectively. If you don't receive a notice from ABB, you can assume your data wasn't involved in this breach, but you should still monitor your finances and your credit just to be safe if you are involved with this company or another organization that has been recently breached.