TORONTO -- A new report says North American manufacturing companies are increasingly targets for cybercriminal gangs that use malicious software to shut down businesses if they don't pay a ransom.
Research from Toronto-based eSentire says that six known criminal gangs hit at least 292 new victim organizations globally in 2021 so far, including Montreal-based Bombardier.
The eSentire report says the criminal groups it tracks continue to hit previous targets such as government and school districts, but several have increased their attacks on the manufacturing sector.
It says a gang that went after Quanta Computers, which makes MacBooks for Apple, has added at least 52 new victims this year in manufacturing, transportation and construction.
It also says manufacturers in several countries have been hit by attacks from DarkSide, which the FBI says was behind the attack on Colonial Pipeline that disrupted gasoline distribution this month.
ESentire says it doesn't know how many of the victim companies paid ransoms but noted Quanta Computers and Tata Steel say they refused.
