A gang steals 3,000 designs from SpaceX..and threatens Musk to sell them
The ransomware gang has claimed to have stolen 3,000 designs from Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket team and is threatening to sell them to competitors.
A group calling itself LockBit warned the American billionaire earlier this week, threatening to sell those leaked designs at auction on March 20.
In a post on the Internet, the group said that these designs will find their buyer as soon as possible, according to the British Daily Mail.
“We’ll help you sell your designs to other manufacturers, like build a ship faster and fly far,” she said in a post to Musk.
“There are about 3,000 drawings approved by SpaceX engineers,” she added, adding, “We will launch the auction within a week, and all available data will be published!”
Image of the countdown posted by the group
Countdown
In addition, a direct countdown on the page showed the number of days remaining, which is the deadline for an undisclosed amount to be paid by SpaceX to the ransomware group.
Also below the post are three “classified” documents allegedly leaked from Maximum Industries, which is believed to be a SpaceX contractor.
It also included an engine design, a non-disclosure agreement between SpaceX and Maximum Industries, and kits for the Starship.
Expressive
100 million dollars from the victims
For its part, the US Department of Justice said that LockBit first appeared at the beginning of 2020 and has since generated at least $100 million from ransom victims worldwide.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been investigating the group since March 2020 and believes there have been as many as 1,000 global victims.
It is noteworthy that the threats of LockBit were not limited to the aerospace industry, as Bonta Viva, a cheese maker, and Radium Life Technology, a real estate company, are facing similar ransom threats.